Our essential goods programme supports refugee claimant families who are newly arrived in Montreal with few, if any, possessions after fleeing human rights abuses in their countries of origin. We ensure that newcomers sleep on beds instead of floors, have basic cookware and a table at which to eat meals, and are warmly welcomed in their new homes.
Since 2018, Welcome Collective has supported:
Welcome Collective has provided newcomer families with:
“I feel truly welcomed and confident about my integration.”
—”Albert”, a Montrealer who arrived from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2021
“Welcome Collective showed up, saw that I needed support, and didn’t hesitate to help with furniture, clothing, cookware, and much more. Your kindness will be forever kept in my heart”
—“Isabel”, a Montrealer who arrived from Angola in 2020
“Welcome Collective was a helping hand at a very difficult time in our lives. We have created a bond that will surely last a lifetime.”
— Diana and Julian, Montrealers who arrived from Colombia in 2018
Environmental Impact
Social justice and environmental justice are inextricably connected. Our Essential Goods programme makes a positive environmental impact, saving items for re-use that could otherwise end up in landfills.
During our most recent fiscal year, nearly 100 tonnes of furniture and other items were saved for re-use.
That’s equivalent to the weight of 20 elephants, and a potential avoided greenhouse gas impact of 571 tonnes of CO2!
This is roughly the amount of CO2 emitted by 72 cars each driving from Montreal to Quebec and back 100 times!
Our operations have saved 35 times more potential greenhouse gas emissions than we have created!