Together Project, Filling the Gap: Volunteer & Settlement Sector Interactions In Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis

The arrival of 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada in 2015 and 2016 generated a massive amount of support from volunteers and volunteer initiatives. Volunteers encountered an established settlement sector, which, on top of dealing with more than double the number of resettled refugees, often struggled with what one settlement sector respondent interviewed for the report called “too much help” from volunteers. While coordination improved over time, many volunteers lost interest or were not effectively mobilized. On the other hand, new volunteer initiatives have successfully filled gaps in service provision.

The research team was interested in the interactions between volunteers and the settlement sector. We categorize volunteer initiatives as novel / grassroots, preexisting / repurposed, and organized / devoted. We categorize the settlement sector as non-existent / minimal, small & centralized, and large & complex. We measure the quality of interaction across three variables: complimentarity, sustainability, and scalability. These variables were ranked along a high, medium, low spectrum based on our research. We explore interactions through qualitative case studies.