FOCUS supports the resettlement of refugees who are welcomed by Canada and who have been displaced by civil unrest, conflict or other causes. Since the 1990s, in close partnership with the Government of Canada, we have resettled nearly 10,000 Afghan refugees and a smaller number of refugees from Kosovo.

FOCUS’s approach is based on deep community engagement and support. Its programmes help families adjust to their new environment, and gain access to education, healthcare, language training, job placement. and entrepreneurial opportunities. The goal is to help families become self-reliant and productive, and to become over time contributors to the well-being of Canadian society.

Our disaster risk reduction programmes build community capacity and foster resilience.

We train disaster management teams across the country so thay they can then effectively prepare, monitor and respond in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.

In addition, we implement the ShakeOut in communities across Canada. This is the world’s largest annual earthquake preparedness drill. It helps reduce the risk of death and injury by practising earthquake safety procedures.

Based on the Canadian government’s emergency preparedness guidelines, we help individuals and families, especially the elderly and vulnerable, to be prepared to face emergencies and ensure self-sufficiency for up to 72 hours after a disaster.

In 2015, FOCUS Canada signed a partnership with the Canadian Red Cross to train and mobilise community members across the country to assist in responses to large-scale disaster. Since 2015, around 1,000 volunteers have been trained as part of the Ready When the Time Comes programme. Volunteers have since been deployed on several occasions, including the flooding that displaced approximately 120,000 people in 31 communities across Alberta and the ice storm that cut off power to more than 250,000 residents in Ontario and Quebec, both in 2013.