Innovative Approaches to Community-Based Housing for Precarious Migrants and Refugees: A Policy Report

[para. 1]: "In 2023, Toronto’s Shelter, Support and Housing Administration reported a 440 per cent increase in refugee claimants in the shelter system since 2021 (City of Toronto 2023). In Canadian cities like Toronto, demanding conditions for rental applications and structural barriers negatively affect the ability of refugee claimants to secure housing. These challenges, plus limited financial resources, social networks, cultural familiarity, and official language familiarity, place refugee claimants at particular risk of homelessness (Kissoon 2010; Sherrell, D’Addario, and Hiebert 2007). Austerity and state withdrawal from housing provision has led to similar housing crises in other cities in North America (Ngueita 2020), Europe (Meet et al. 2021), Latin America (Magliano and Perissinotti 2020), and Africa (Paller 2015). In response, local non-profits and community-based housing organizations (CBHOs) have assumed greater responsibility in supporting unhoused refugees. However, a critical knowledge gap exists in understanding how these community-based practices of hospitality provide holistic alternatives to accommodation for precarious migrants."