2018 (Metro Vancouver region)

Domestic Abuse Services (DAS) is a registered charity that provides safe housing for mothers and children fleeing domestic abuse. It shelters up to 12 families per year at Eva’s House. HRI awarded DAS $1,332 to offer free Internet service to families in Eva’s House. This will provide safe, convenient and comfortable access for families to seek employment, interact with agencies, and meet educational needs.

Point Grey Secondary School was awarded $200 to paint a set of school steps in the rainbow colours representing the LGTBQ community. This rainbow staircase will serve as a welcome to all students and families, encourage acceptance, and promote a school culture of care and inclusiveness.

Sir Alexander Mackenize Elementary School was granted $1,500 to create a gesture of reconciliation through an art installation focused on Residential Schools. The art piece would have every student and staff design a small wooden tile as a piece of the larger installation. This installation will henceforth become the place to meet and continue discussions on reconciliation.

2019 (Greater Toronto and Ottawa regions)

Eastern Ottawa Resource Centre (EORC) is a charitable organization with the goal of strengthening the community by offering a wide range of community programs and services to seniors, children, youth, women victims of violence and refugees. EORC recognized that a high number of refugee children had integrated the Ottawa school system in recent years. Some experienced incidents of discrimination, racism and verbal abuse by other children. HRI awarded EORC $2,000 to help publish a children-friendly book for school students between the ages of 8 and 12 which explains the articles of the Universal Declaration in simple and age-appropriate language with illustrations.

Aurora House is a transitional home for survivors of human trafficking. It provides case management services and trauma counselling for its residents. It was granted $1,200 by HRI to hold an event that would feature two survivors sharing their stories, tips on how to recognize trafficking, and how Aurora House can support survivors.

2020 (Special call for anti-racism initiatives)

A newcomer to Canada from Iran requested funding to support the illustration and publication of a children’s book she wrote about sharing cultures at school following her son’s experience with bullying at school. HRI awarded her a grant of $2,000.

Branch Out Theatre in Toronto is a community arts collective that facilitates community engagement, creative play and critical reflection. HRI granted it $2,000 towards an initiative to engage newcomer youth in the city in leadership, communication and theatre skills, and provide a forum for them to express, address and raise awareness about their lived experiences of racism.

An avid runner in Winnipeg who began a running/exercise group called CoffeeRun. Its purpose is to make exercise more accessible to under-represented populations in the city and encourage individuals of all races, ages and exercise levels to attend and bring awareness of health and physical activity back to their communicates, families and friends. An immigrant himself, group members are encouraged to share a coffee or tea from their own cultural backgrounds at the end of each session. HRI awarded CoffeeRun $1,000 towards a running shoe, bib and athletic clothing drive for the group.

Somerset West Community Health Centre is located in an area of Ottawa with a large number of immigrant, refugee, vulnerable and racialized populations. It launched a broad, multi-year anti-racism initiative. HRI awarded the Centre $2,000 specifically to engage community members in a series of conversations on racism and anti-racism and to share their experiences.

Just Food is a community development organization working towards just and sustainable food and farming systems in Ottawa with a focus on system change in both rural and urban settings. HRI awarded the organization $2,000 to support a series of facilitated learning and discussion sessions focused on building concrete skills to identify racial discrimination, racial justice, and ways to build inclusion and conflict resolution tools that volunteer leaders can use.

2022 (IZ SINGH)

The project that I am working on is a “know your rights” hand out for people who sell & use drugs, and/or do sex work in Montreal. This handout is for people who use street drugs and or do sex work in Montreal that would inform them about their rights when interacting with the police. Conflict between street involved people and the police is common and dangerous. If people are well informed about their rights and responsibilities, it helps to avoid those dangerous conflicts. Having already consulting with a legal expert to finalize the content of the handout, I am in the process of completing its final design. I have established partnerships with different Montreal organizations as well as individuals who are themselves either sex workers or people who use drugs who will assist in its distribution.

2022 (SANCTUARY HEALTH)

Sanctuary Health is a grassroots community group. We deploy direct action, community-engagement and direct support strategies to advocate for access to services for all regardless of immigration status or documentation. We are committed to building cross-sectoral alliances of mutual support to advance the migrant-justice movement on unceded Coast Salish territories.

Sanctuary Health has partnered with the REACH Centre pharmacy to provide medications to people without access to health care through the Medical Services Plan. In March, we were excited to be able to provide medically-necessary medications to a young girl, which would have otherwise been inaccessible to her.

2022 (AGIR)

AGIR is a non-profit organization with a mission to develop and offer services, programs and resources for the protection and defense of legal, social and economic rights to migrants (specifically asylum seekers and refugees) from the LGBTQI+ communities, all in a perspective of solidarity. Since 2011, AGIR has been working as an organization by and for LGBTQI+ migrants and refugees in Montreal, created to address the specific needs of this community. We offer our services in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, and last year we worked with LGBTQI+ migrants from 45 different countries.

AGIR's project is supporting 5 LGBTQ+ migrant and refugee visual artists to create artworks around the theme of belonging. The artists will be able to come together to work on these projects, and their work will be highlighted in our new office space to make our members feel welcome!