Comments Off on Sonya’s Story: Starting over with community support
When Sonya* arrived in Canada in 2015 with her 11-year-old son Eric*, she was starting over completely.
She was a single mother in a new country, navigating an unfamiliar language, searching for housing, and trying to figure out how to access basic supports — all while making sure her son had enough to eat.
In August 2015 Sonya was connected with our Bathurst-Finch Community Food Space, where right away she felt at home.
“Coming to Bathurst-Finch with a large population of Russian speakers, It was very comforting that someone could communicate with us without a language barrier issue,” Sonya says.
There, she found food and clothing support, support with immigration papers and documentation, and staff helped Sonya figure out how to apply for ODSP.
Eventually they met Elis, our Community Services Manager, who has been a steady support as Sonya and Eric have built their lives here in Canada.
“We have known Elis for 11 years. She has helped us get on a waitlist for subsidized housing, receive lower-income TTC Presto cards, access medical care before we became permanent residents, and during summer heat waves, Elis connected us with a program to receive a free A/C for our home,” Sonya says.
For Sonya and Eric, this support made all the difference.
“We don’t know what we would have done without North York Harvest,” Eric says. “It’s the kind of support that changed our lives here.”
Today, Eric is studying business marketing, a future that once felt out of reach.
But like many families across Toronto, Sonya and Eric are still navigating rising living costs. With rent and food prices continuing to climb, North York Harvest Food Bank remains an essential support.
“If we didn’t have access to these services, we would be in a very different situation right now,” Eric adds. Because I’m a student and my mom’s on ODSP… There’s not much left over after rent and food expenses. Everything that the food bank provides helps us a lot.”
*Names have been changed to protect client identity.
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