Supporting LGBTQA refugees in Calgary

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Uprooting one’s life, no matter the circumstances, is never an easy prospect. But for someone who’s reason for leaving everything and everyone they know behind is out of fear of prosecution or violence based on their sexuality or gender identity, the toll is even higher. This fear is an all too real concern for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in over 70 countries where they are criminalized, in many cases facing torture or the death penalty.

“There’s quite literally thousands LGBT people in those circumstances trying to get out of those countries and flee those scenarios,” says Kelly Ernst, president of the End of the Rainbow Foundation in Calgary. Formed in 2017, The End of the Rainbow Foundation is a volunteer-run group created to bring services and programs to support people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities or expressions (SOGIE) to Calgary. While the Foundation has a number of programs supporting Calgary’s LGBT community including PFLAG Calgary, TransJourneys, and the LGBTQ+ Newcomers Group, it is best known for one program in particular: the Calgary Rainbow Railroad Station.

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A part of the larger Rainbow Coalition for Refugees helmed by the Rainbow Railroad in Toronto, the Calgary Rainbow Railroad Station assists SOGIE refugees to settle in Calgary after they have been assisted in fleeing unsafe countries. The Station supports a number of the refugee claimants the Rainbow Coalition is able to reasonably support arriving in Canada each year. With little to no financial support in place for these claimants, the program only has so much capacity to support them on arrival in Canada. “I believe it’s around 100 that they were able to [support] last year,” says Ernst. “That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s really impactful when you start to meet them and find out exactly what they’ve gone through in these countries.”

“We can only support the number of refugees that we have the money to do,” he says. “We need about $16,500 per person, or per year, that we’re trying to support. That alone doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you say, ‘I want to try to do that with five people,’ now we’re getting close to $80,000 a year.” He says the success of the Station is dependent on a constant kind of fundraising that all of the stations in the Coalition must do to support each sponsored refugee. In 2019, the Calgary Rainbow Railroad Station sponsored seven refugees.

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While COVID-19 may have slowed or altogether halted immigration, Ernst says the virus has not had the same impact on the violence and persecution these refugee claimants face in their home countries. “The death threats are not stopping. The execution, the torture, the persecution and abuse that people are experiencing in their communities, by their governments — all of that isn’t stopping,” he says. “If anything, it may be getting worse in some areas. So, we still hear all of those stories every single day and have to address those.”

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To continue in its mission to these claimants, the End of the Rainbow Foundation has shifted its annual Pride Patio Party to a more intimate, at-home experience that allows Calgarians to host their own mini version of the fundraising initiative. The Re-Imagined TD Bank’s Inglewood/Ramsay Pride Patio Party brings together a number of Calgary food and drink businesses to create party packages with everything needed to bring the party to your patio. All donations made through this initiative are matched by a corporate donor to ensure everyone participating receives their party package choice and a charitable tax receipt. To learn more or to find more ways to support the End of the Rainbow Foundation, click here.

You can also support the Foundation and the Calgary Rainbow Railroad Station by getting your pre-patio party sweat on through our Pride In Business Outdoor Boot Camp on August 15. Admittance to this socially-distanced outdoor workout session is by donation to End of the Rainbow Foundation and features a great workout class run by a community fitness instructor and some of Calgary’s finest drag talent. Reserve your spot here.