VANCOUVER -- The Mayor of Coquitlam says he's overwhelmed with the generosity of city residents after a pre-Christmas plea for donations for Syrian refugees and other needy families was quickly answered.
"It's been amazing," said Richard Stewart. "I laid out five different families that we had: refugees, non-refugees, single moms fleeing challenging realities, or who can't get child support, and the response was amazing."
"It always astounds me how generous people can be, especially if you identify a need: a need that has a face."
Stewart's Dec. 13 Facebook message described several families he knew who needed specific things: shoes for a five-year-old. Lego and dinosaurs. Black jeans for a teenager. Clothes for a refugee family headed by a widowed mom, who have been living out of suitcases for years in refugee camps in Jordan.
A stove. A washer and dryer. Spoons and forks. A bunk bed.
And, added Stewart, many of the families didn't ask for toys or other things to keep their kids occupied, but "if anyone wants to contribute, I'm absolutely certain there'd be enthusiastic appreciation."
Stewart said his post was almost immediately met with an outpouring of donations. Except for some of the appliances he mentioned, every "wish list" item was met with either new or lightly-used items. One woman dropped off 10 visa gift cards, each worth $100.
"Those go an awful long way for families that may be living paycheque to paycheque and trying make ends meet as rents go up and as unintended costs come up," Stewart said.
Stewart and city councillor Teri Towner are involved with Tri-Cities Friends of Refugees. Along with volunteers from local churches and service clubs and donations from local companies, the group has been fixing up several derelict townhouses in Coquitlam and putting them into use for refugees and others who desperately need housing.
"These townhouses are pretty typical of some of the social housing that was built in the 1980s that's reaching the end of its life, and we're trying to stretch a little bit more life out of some of the empty units," Stewart said.
"One by one these units are coming back to life and we're able to find a place for some of the larger refugee families who have a lot of trouble finding housing."
Since the group began renovating the townhouses, the complex has housed around 100 families, some who stay for just a few months before finding a more permanent home.
Betul Nebhen is a single mother who came to Canada from Aleppo in Syria four years ago as a government-sponsored refugee.
"I was living in an apartment that they had to tear down, so it was urgent that we move," Nebhen told CTV News. "They (fixed everything) up, and they moved me here with my kids. It was so damaged, and they did everything new."
Nebhen said living in the complex also provides a community of other families from Syria who came to Canada as refugees.
One family lived in the townhouse complex for 18 months so that their five-year-old daughter, who lost her leg in Syria's civil war, could get medical care at BC Children's Hospital, Stewart said.
"Over the course of 18 months, she was running again and playing with the other children in the playground," Stewart said.
"They went back to Haida Gwaii. That's where they were originally placed, and they're thriving."
Stewart said his Dec. 13 Facebook post isn't the first time he's put out a call for donations, and every time, the Coquitlam community has responded.
"Every time we've put out a call for something, we've gotten offers for everything," he said.
