Maria, a primary school teacher, sought help from Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) and the Domestic Violence Care Centre (CAVI). "At the beginning you trust your laws," Maria said. "You trust that what you're going through will stop because someone will help you."
No one did.
"Sorry we can't do anything," Maria remembers being told by the head of CAVI. "That's when I said this is it." She withdrew her life savings and bought four plane tickets to Canada. Palms sweating and heart racing, Maria approached the immigration officer and asked for refugee status. She endured a lengthy questioning period and waited nine hours for the paperwork to be processed. But in the end it was all worth it. "They said yes, we will help you," said Maria. "I didn't expect it."
With $240 in the bank and no place to stay, the Ochos were referred to the YMCA Residence on Tupper Street - a temporary housing service for people in need. The Residence occupies what was formerly the Reddy Memorial Hospital building.
Maria is one of roughly 1,670 people the YMCA Residence helps each year. The residence provides accommodations, food and a range of activities including French and English classes, a youth program and family outings, designed to ease new arrivals into life in Canada. "We want to give people who fled their own country and didn't decide to leave their country a chance at a normal life," said Heloise Ouimet, Director of Community Initiatives at the YMCA Residence.
Staff members encourage new clients to take part in the daily activities. But Maria initially feared for her kids' safety and kept them by her side at all times. As she became more comfortable, Maria started letting them spend time with other kids at the YMCA. Pedro, 14, took particular interest in the youth program. "Every day he would ask me, can I go?" said Maria. "Now we don't see him anymore."
The recently established youth program is designed to build camaraderie through sporting activities and cooking classes. Youth are also encouraged to develop their leadership skills by assisting younger kids and new arrivals at the centre. "Pedro was one of the older ones in the program, which made him feel like he's taking care of everything," said Maria. "They made him feel important."
But Mark and Jose prefer spending time with their mom, so Maria took her sons to the Biodome and Jean-Drapeau Park this past summer. Such YMCA family outings gave them an opportunity to take in their new surroundings and relax following the stress of filing for refugee status. "Balance," Maria said. "You have to do things, but you also have to balance life and enjoy it."
The residence relies on support from university students and young asylum seekers who volunteer three to four hours each week. "I get inner satisfaction," said Ghina Fakhouri who has been with the YMCA for the past year because she wants to make a difference. "We help people develop a strong and sincere loyalty to their new country."
Maria fled a life of helplessness in Mexico and found people in Canada who want to help her. "I have been fighting for so many years and nothing came out of it," Maria recently cried to her mom over the phone. "Suddenly, everything's great."
After six weeks in the YMCA Residence, the Ochos received their welfare cheque and moved into their own apartment in Cote-des-Neiges. They celebrated with a bowl of ice cream and shared their thoughts on what they loved most about Canada. They all agreed, "We like to be free."
For more information about the YMCA Residence or to give a donation, contact Heloise Ouimet at Heloise.Ouimet@ymcaquebec.org.
Note: In this article, the names of Maria and her family were changed to protect confidentiality.
