City of Windsor Asylum Claimant Team

City of Windsor Asylum Claimant Team

By Sheri Arseneau

January 2024


OMSSA is featuring several 2023 Local Municipal Champion award recipients and their work in the Knowledge Exchange Blog. Please read this entry from the City of Windsor below. 

As a country, we’ve been through a lot over the last few years. We’ve seen how quickly change can happen when it needs to happen. Immigration is not the solution to all of our challenges, but it is key to growing our economy and strengthening our communities — its future is something in which we all have a vested interest.

The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Roxham Road (presently closed)

Roxham Road is bisected by the Canada-U.S. Border between Quebec and New York. It sits about 50 km south of Montreal. The road is a well-travelled unofficial border crossing for asylum seekers hoping to enter Canada. Due to the volume of claimants arriving in Quebec, It was not long until Quebec shelters were full. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) stepped in and rented hotels in Quebec to accommodate the asylum seekers. The hotels rented in Quebec by IRCC quickly filled. They had to expand their hotel operations outside of Quebec. IRCC transferred asylum claimants via charter bus to multiple municipalities across Ontario for temporary hotel accommodations. Windsor first welcomed the asylum seekers crossing at Roxham Road in January 2023. IRCC rented out the Holiday Inn in Windsor, Ontario to accommodate the claimants entering Canada.

City of Windsor Employment and Social Services

Windsor was advised that IRCC would be sending Asylum claimants crossing at Roxham Road into Quebec to hotels in the City of Windsor.  
Ontario Works staff arrived at the Holiday Inn to determine how to assist this new wave of Ontario Works (OW) applicants. We were escorted to a banquet room; the room had tables set up like a wedding reception. To our surprise the room was packed. The asylum seekers were already in Windsor and wanted to speak with a caseworker or someone who could answer their questions. The scene was quite overwhelming. Staff went from table to table making introductions and explaining the Ontario Works application process. The majority of the asylum claimants had cell phones with internet access; they had their phones set to the language of their choosing and were comfortable using google translate.

Meet the Team

Four Caseworkers and two Intake Service Representatives (clerical support) make up the Asylum Claimant team. A decision was made to permanently be onsite at the hotels. This would ensure Caseworkers in office would not have increased work and our OW lobby would not be flooded by hundreds of people looking for assistance. Being onsite at the hotel prevents added pressure being put on already stretched resources at the City of Windsor.

The team is equipped with phones, laptops, and a portable printer. Clerical support answer phones, answer MyBenefits messaging, assist with online application, assist with MyBenefits applications, issue benefits approved by the Caseworker, assist with e-signing where required, and clear and action tasks. Caseworkers complete applications, secure supporting documents, complete the Outcome plan, refer to community partners, complete housing applications and ongoing case management. An OW team approach brought clerical support and Caseworkers together as one unit. The unit's goal is to case manage the one caseload. Giving different duties to the clerical allowed the Caseworker to focus on applications and system navigation.

Asylum claimant files are assigned to one of the Caseworkers on the team in SAMS and are directed to one phone line answered by the team’s clerical support staff. This type of assignment makes it easy to track application status and trends. SADA and IBAU are utilized to assist with applications. Everyone on the team is responsible for the work assigned to that one Caseworker. Clients are informed that they have four Caseworkers that they can call on for assistance. The team approach provides excellent customer service and client experience. The clients like the idea that any Ontario Works staff stationed at the hotel can assist with applications and answer questions. As the weeks passed this process became easier because the settlement agencies, school boards and Legal Assistance joined us in the Hotels. The hotel became a hub that met all the asylum claimants’ needs.



Shirley Kidd, Ontario Works Caseworker

Neda Ali, Ontario Works Caseworker

Gisele Chibani, Intake Service Representative


Michelle Dimario, Intake Service Representative

Jamie Court, Ontario Works Caseworker

Jessica Smith, Ontario Works Caseworker

January 2023 Hotel Stats

  • Approximately 500 asylum claimants were transferred to the Holiday Inn, and as claimants kept coming, two more hotels were secured to meet the demand.
  • The team was divided into group of twos and were stationed at the hotels completing applications and case managing. 
  • Thirty-six nationalities represented the claimants at the hotels.

What Translation Looked Like? How Do We Communicate?

  • There were numerous claimants that travelled with friends and family who spoke English and they were eager to help with interpreting.
  • The Ontario Works caseworkers and clerical support speak Spanish, Arabic and French.
  • When needed, we used a language line (online interpreter).
  • For quick easy translations we used Google Translate. The majority of the clients have this set on their phones so they were familiar with its use.
  • The client’s phones are set to their language of choice and they are able to access Ontario Works and MyBenefits in their language.

By March 2023, Windsor had over 1,000 claimants living in the three hotels

  • These numbers started decreasing due to client migration to bigger cities, securing employment or moving in with friends and family.
  • At the end of June one of the hotels closed.
  • In September 2023, there were 643 claimants in the hotels.
  • Today there are almost 800 asylum claimants temporarily residing in two Windsor hotels.
  • The hotels began filling again to accommodate the filled to capacity shelters in Toronto and in the Windsor area.

Making it work

The hotel offers claimants access to settlement agencies, school board representatives, legal assistance, Workforce Windsor, employment providers and Ontario Works. All partners are working together to assist the claimants with what is required in order for them to move forward.

When clients come to the hotel, there is an orientation or welcome session offered by the settlement agencies and Legal Assistance of Windsor. The session explains which agencies are in the hotel and when, and how to complete immigration documents.

One room in each of the Hotels is staffed by IRCC. The clients are able to utilize this room to secure supplies, access a calendar that lets clients know who is on site and when, and ask immigration questions. 

Hotels and the settlement agencies have computers that clients can use to fill out their immigration applications.

An example of Employment and Training Opportunities

  • We often had clients enquire about security guard and forklift training.
  • Funding became available and flyers were made to notify of the training.
  • Employment worker with asylum team secured a date to be on-site and take resumes.
  • 80 clients attended the information session.
  • 67 resumes screened and collected.
  • 16 confirmed registered for security training.
  • 7 completed forklift training on November 17th.
  • 7 more registered for November 14, and will work on another 7 people registered for December 1, December 8, and December 15.  

Collaboration is ongoing. The goal is client education and employment. All claimants who cannot speak English enroll in English classes. All dependants are in elementary and secondary school. In the summer, numerous claimants worked at farms in the county. This allowed them to save money and move out of the hotels. This is an educated and hard working community that wants to succeed. Because shelter costs are so high, singles who came to Canada together are also securing rental units together. Extended families are moving out of the hotels together as one family unit. The team continues to case manage and handle applications as they come. This approach has been extremely successful in Windsor. We are ready to apply this approach to other caseloads within our office.

Client testimonies

Ontario Works has been a testament to the transformative power of support during challenging times. From Navigating financial hardships to screening meaningful employment and fastening a sense of community. Ontario Works has been more than a program-it has been a partner in my journey towards professional triumph and growth. Now I am in school and then I decide to continue my education. I consider Ontario Works to be my strongest in this case and I wanted to express my gratitude to Ontario Works.

Quand je prend l'argent au Ontario, je suis très content car ça m'aide à faire face sur mes besoin de survive au Canada. Comment je suis à la patience pour mon Permis de Travail. En réalité, Ontario au Travail qui aide les personnes qui ont besoin de continuer leur vie ici au Canada. Comment il y'a pas emploie pour le moment, j'attends le Permis de Travail. Si j'ai eu un travail je veux déclaré mes impôts au services compétent.

Resources

About the Author


Sheri Arseneau is an Ontario Works supervisor with the City of Windsor Human & Health Services Department. She oversees the asylum claimant team. Her goal is to make a difference in the lives of the clients we are fortunate to meet.

Blog categories: Employment, Community Services, Ontario Works, Asylum, City of Windsor