Addressing Accommodation Needs for Refugee Claimants and Survivors of Human Trafficking

Learning Objectives:

1)The presentation will deliver access to crucial training materials and educational resources
about procedures in the refugee process. It will include the timelines on the refugee
determination process and the differences between a port of entry and Inland refugee
claim.
2)The training offers guidelines on the resources and how to support refugee claimants and
other vulnerable communities in the different stages including when they are facing
deportation. The conversation will include the relevance of mental health services.
3) How to navigate Detention Deportation, providing a holistic support and housing
alternatives to detention.
4) A second part of the presentation attendees will learn about root causes and awareness of
trafficking: trafficking in Canada, understanding and identifying a trafficked person and how to support.

Diana Gallego, is a Colombian-trained lawyer, with experience in advocacy, human rights and social justice. In 2002,
Diana was forced to flee Colombia with her husband and son. This experience shaped a new commitment and led her
into working with immigrants and refugees. Diana graduated in Community Work from George Brown College in
Toronto, where she is currently a part time professor in the Centre for Community Services. She joined the FCJ Refugee
Centre in 2015. In 2023 she was elected president of the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR). Within the CCR, she also
serves on the Inland Protection steering committees, where the social and economic integration of refugees and family
reunification are two of the main focuses of her advocacy. Diana has been part of the Canadian Council for Refugees for
the last 17 years and is the first Amina Malko Fund recipient to become CCR President. She is the Co-Executive Director
of the FCI Refugee Centre.

Tsering Lhamo, came to Canada in the early 2000s as a refugee claimant. She joined the FCJ Refugee Centre in 2017 as
a student placement while pursuing her diploma in Social Service Worker from Seneca College. Tsering’s work with
migrants of precarious status is deeply intertwined with her personal narrative as a third-generation Tibetan stateless
refugee. Tsering was Co-Chair of the Housing Network in the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR). She is the Co-
Executive Director of the FCI Refugee Centre.