#WeAreWesley Sam

Sam and Wesley work magic to find housing for refugees

Meet Sam Al Kass, our Supervisor of Housing – Life Skills, part of the Resettlement Assistance Program at Wesley. He and his colleagues help government-assisted refugees get settled with the necessary information and skills. They also help them find affordable housing within a month. “Working magic,” Sam called it.

Sam joined Wesley in 2021 because he’s always loved helping people in the community. Before joining Wesley, Sam volunteered with many community organizations, including the Salvation Army and Neighbour to Neighbour. Growing up, he saw all the work his father did with humanitarian aid organizations. As a kid, he would help out as well. He remembers the passion he felt. He loved seeing the smiles on people’s faces.

Sam understands the clients’ experience, having been a newcomer with his family. When he talks with newcomers, he relates to them. He knows what they’re going through.

He knows the shock, the difficulties and the managing of expectations. He and his colleagues have been newcomers themselves.

Sam knows how resilient the clients are. How they sacrifice as much as they do for their children. How his parents left Iraq for him and his future. He and his staff want to empower the clients to have them navigate things on their own. Wesley’s support will always be there though.

That magic Sam and his colleagues work? That comes from building relationships with property managers and landlords. He’s proactively calling, following up and meeting with them. He’ll tell them about Wesley, what we do, and our ongoing support for the clients. Sam and his team are trying to help more families by expanding their list of property managers and landlords. They also try their best to get them discounted rates.

Sam sees those relationships being built over time. He sees all his and his team’s hard work showing results. He takes great pride when property managers reach out directly to him and his colleagues about renting to Wesley clients before advertising vacancies because they like working with Wesley.

Despite the rising cost of housing in our region, the average number of days a client is staying with Wesley until they find housing has gone down in recent years. Sam wants to see that number continue to go down because it means that families are moving on to building their new lives in Canada.

Now, when he sees those families he’s helped, Sam hears from them how thankful they are for Wesley’s support. He knows how empowered the families are. He sees the smiles on their faces. That motivates him to continue to do what he does every day.

Please join Sam and the Wesley team in transforming lives and building a stronger, more compassionate community.  #wearewesley