Margaret's Housing Immigration and Refugee Navigation Tool

Margaret’s Housing and Community Services (Margaret’s) provide inclusive supportive housing to the most vulnerable women and men in our communities. Margaret’s believes housing is a fundamental social determinant of health. As such, they provide holistic services intended to address the complex nature of the challenges that their clients face.

In Margaret’s respite shelters and drop-in shelters, there may be clients living with mental health challenges who have no immigration status or are only permanent residents. Given these individuals precarious living conditions and health challenges they are at an increased risk of interacting with police and potentially being convicted to certain crimes and being deported. However, for confidentiality reasons Margaret’s cannot inquire into client’s immigration status.

Margaret’s is seeking a student to support the creation of a public legal education tool to navigate the immigration and refugee process for individuals with no immigration status and/or permeant residents. The goal is to use a Steps to Justice Approach for refugee and immigration matters by creating discrete posters and pamphlets that Margaret’s clients can access without disclosing their status.