Hello, everyone. Just to touch base, we're going to cut it in half.
As a witness through this whole Syrian refugees experience, the only problem that we see is through the service agencies. We know that the funding is there, so there's no lack of funding; it's the lack of manpower and people qualified to help the Syrian refugees.
I've been dealing with the Syrian refugees for two years now. The newest batch that came in don't have enough support. Housing was the major issue at the beginning. Half of the housing was found by individuals themselves, not by the actual service agencies. Then, once they're out of the hotels, they've been just left alone. There's not enough support for everyone, literally. It's not only this witness; there are tons of witnesses just being left in their houses not knowing what to do.
We try to attend as volunteers. I do this on a voluntary basis. I'm not getting paid for this, and I've helped more than 50 Syrian families. It's just that it's exhausting just to know there is funding and there are people out there, but they're not helping. There's no one there. It's literally empty. I know people who have been left in their house for a month not knowing what to do, just waiting. Then, when they try to get in contact with people, they tell them, “Give us a call.” They call, and they hear, “Leave a message.” They leave a message and they hear, “Your message has been deleted.”
The line is being cut off somewhere by not getting the services that are out there to them. Yes, it's there on paper, 100%. On paper, it's fully there. There are services for language, interpreters, settlement helpers, settlement workers, family workers. It's all there on paper, but in reality, practically, there's nothing there. It's not hard to see. It's very easy to see. All you have to do is just go out there and see the people and exactly what's happening.
Again, it's not a lack of funding; it's a lack of actually giving it or hiring the right people for it.
How much time do I have?