Support for asylum claimants
Many asylum claimants arrive with little resources, no community connections and nowhere to sleep. An asylum claimant is a person who has made a claim for refugee protection in Canada or at a port of entry.
Asylum claimant emergency shelter program
Peel Region has an asylum claimant emergency shelter program that gives you a safe place to stay and many helpful services to support you as you begin your new life in Canada.
If you are an asylum claimant or know an asylum claimant who needs a place to stay, call the Asylum Claimant Shelter Central Intake at 647-368-5880.
Do not arrive at any emergency shelter or hotel unannounced. Our staff will do our best to find you a spot, however due to high demand, we cannot guarantee placement in Peel. Learn about our shelters.
Verification must be provided at first intake.
Our program includes both essential services and support services to ensure a safe and comfortable stay as you begin your journey in Canada.
Essential services
- A warm bed to ensure comfort and safety.
- Meals and snacks provided throughout your stay.
- Personal hygiene items for your convenience and well-being.
- Shower facilities to keep you refreshed.
- Laundry facilities for clean clothing.
- Quiet and prayer rooms for personal reflection and peace.
Support services
We offer a range of on-site referrals to assist you in settling into your new life:
- Immigration supports to help navigate the asylum process.
- Employment supports to connect you with job opportunities.
- Housing search supports to assist you in finding a permanent home.
- Health supports to ensure your well-being.
- Connection to financial supports (Ontario Works) to help with your immediate financial needs.
Emergency shelter options
- Large congregate setting to support single individuals, couples and couples with adult children in Mississauga
- Hotel room for families with children in Mississauga and Brampton
We help asylum claimants cope with the challenges of displacement, offering stability and guidance during a difficult transition period. This includes support with finding housing, income support, health care, legal aid, language support, and community integration.
To get help you can complete the housing screening.
Access these services in Peel for help and information about money, health, and adjusting to life in Peel.
Immigration supports
If you’ve recently arrived in Canada and need to submit an immigration application or need refugee protection, access Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.
Welcome to My Refugee Claim - your journey through Canada’s refugee protection process will be your very own. But there are important steps that all refugee claimants must take. Use the 8 sections of this website to find where you are at in the process, learn what you must do, and prepare for what is next.
Legal services
Mississauga Community Legal Services
If you reside in Mississauga and are looking for free legal services to support you with your asylum claim, call 905-896-2050 or access their website to learn more about the services provided.
Employment services
WCG Employment Ontario provides jobseekers with the support and programs they need and can help you secure employment to gain Canadian work experience.
Financial help
If you need help paying for food and shelter, financial help is available from the Ontario government called Ontario Works. This is also sometimes known as social assistance.
If you want to apply for Ontario Works, you must have official papers that prove you’ve made a claim for refugee protection.
Health care
The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) will temporarily pay for some health care services for refugee claimants in Canada if the claimants do not have provincial, territorial, or private health-care coverage.
Black Health and Social Services Hub Peel - offers a range of Afrocentric programs and activities in primary care, mental health and addictions, and social services.
Refugee HealthLine
Call the Refugee HealthLine for free at 1-866-286-4770. The Refugee HealthLine is available in many languages. It will connect refugee claimants with health care providers who deliver temporary health care and services. Refugees, resettlement assistance programs, sponsors, and settlement agencies can also call the Refugee HealthLine to help match refugees with:
- Primary care providers (refugee health clinics, community health centres, family health teams, nurse practitioner-led clinics, midwifery practices, physician practices, and walk-in clinics).
- Specialists (obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, and psychiatry).
- Mental health service providers.
- Optometrists.
The Refugee HealthLine will refer agencies and individuals to the closest providers who can help give eligible patients temporary care.
Adjusting to life in Peel
Settlement.org is a website that gives newcomers and refugees information and resources about living in Ontario.
- Get important information.
- Read relevant news.
- Ask questions.
- Share your experiences with others.
- Get a list of community organizations.
ImmigrationPeel.ca
ImmigrationPeel.ca provides newcomers to Canada with information about local services, programs, and events that will help them adjust and embrace the Peel Community faster and easier.
211 is a free helpline that will not share your personal information with others. It is available every day, all day and night, online and by phone in more than 150 languages.
Call or text 211 or visit 211Central.ca to chat live about these and other community services:
- newcomer and settlement services
- employment and training programs
- 2SLGBTQ+ resources
- mental health support
- legal aid services
- child care programs
- transportation
Community Services Map helps you find local resources, including:
- language support
- employment and education
- child care
- food and shelter
- health care services
- legal assistance
- government services
- places of worship
Shelters regularly accept hygiene products (toothpaste, shampoo, bars of soap, body wash etc), feminine hygiene products, socks and undergarments. If you would like to donate any of these items email us.
Because of health and safety concerns, prepared food donations are only accepted under strict standards.
Meals and snacks are provided by shelter staff.
If you can provide a place to stay for asylum claimants in need, email housing help.