St. John the Divine in Victoria has a long history of social justice work. For 30 years the church had an active refugee sponsorship committee, but when Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada introduced new administrative requirements for refugee sponsorship in 2022, it became clear that the parish could no longer sustain this already difficult and costly work.
Many in the parish were saddened, and Duane Lecky, a long-time St. John’s parishioner, was among them. The last refugee that the church resettled was a gay man who fled persecution in The Gambia. He came to stay with Duane and his family when he first arrived in Victoria and through him, Duane got to know other gay and lesbian Gambians who had also fled their home country for neighbouring Senegal. Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, has a UN refugee agency office and is the first port of call for many seeking asylum.
These LGBTQ+ Gambians were living on the streets and the Gambian man staying with Duane persuaded Duane to help them. He set up a GoFundMe and was able to send them enough funds to rent an apartment. “It was tiny,” says Duane. “They had to sleep in shifts. But at least it was not the streets.”
The group ended up moving apartments several times as they were forced out whenever a neighbour found out they were gay. Eventually, a young gay Gambian named Emel joined their group and in 2019 Emel was able to settle in Victoria.
Emel wanted to extend the same lifeline to other LGBTQ+ asylum seekers that he had been offered. In 2023, he was able to realise this vision when he co-founded Rainbow Haven, with Duane as the organization’s chair. Rainbow Haven is a volunteer-led organization that aims to provide food and shelter for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers while they make their way through the refugee process and await resettlement.
To do this, the organization hopes to bring on board partners, called Rainbow Haven locals, to establish and maintain Rainbow Haven safe houses for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in locations where one is needed.
The first partner to come on board as a Rainbow Haven local was Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria. Through a process of discernment and searching, the cathedral found a contact in Kenya who could help them rent a property. “You always rent,” says Duane. “Because you never know if the neighbours are going to turn against you and drive you out of the house.” The cathedral “local” is now renting a property that houses a group of lesbians who were not safe in the refugee settlement.
One of the women at the safe house in Kenya that Brad Hallam, who manages communications for Rainbow Haven, interviewed spoke of being subjected to multiple sexual assaults, including “corrective” rape, in a refugee camp. She was later imprisoned for wounding someone in self-defense. A social worker was able to connect her to Rainbow Haven. She is now safely housed in the cathedral’s Rainbow Haven safe house and feels a basic sense of safety and stability that will help her focus on her resettlement application.
“We’re intervening on that really basic level of just trying to get people to safety and create a foundation to build from,” says Brad. “In terms of having those basic needs met around food, shelter, safety, those are foundational. And until those things are met, it’s really difficult to give your energy to anything else.
“If you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, if you don’t know where you’re sleeping that night… Until those things are resolved, it’s hard to give your attention to meaningful relationships or starting the refugee application process.”
In Kenya, LGBTQ+ asylum seekers are usually a little bit safer than they were in the country they were fleeing. But in the case of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers who travel to Senegal, this is not the case.
“The Gambians who leave The Gambia and go to Dakar are actually in more danger,” says Duane. “On world rankings Senegal is lower on the list than The Gambia, but you can’t be a refugee if you’re still in your home country. And you can’t hide from people if you’re still in your home country. So, they flee to Dakar where the UN has its office, and then they have to stay there through the refugee process, which can take years.”
Eventually Duane hopes to have 200 Rainbow Haven locals, with a Rainbow Haven central supporting the local partners.
While Duane says they are open to working with a range of different partners, he does see a natural convergence between the work that Rainbow Haven is doing and churches that have a focus on social justice work. Many have a history of doing refugee resettlement work and may even still have funds set aside for that work. Churches also have experience in fundraising and already have people and systems in place, such as experienced treasurers and the ability to issue tax receipts.
“About half our committee are churchgoers,” says Duane. “One of my attractions to St. John the Divine in the first place was its social justice work and manifesting Christian love. In clear ways, I guess that’s what [this work] is about. Putting faith into action is a phrase you hear a lot and that’s what St. John’s has always done. I’m proud to be carrying on that tradition.”
Parishes interested in supporting Rainbow Haven or becoming a Rainbow Haven local can contact the organization through its website, rainbowhaven.org, or by email at [email protected]. Individuals can also make a donation to Rainbow Haven through the website. Monthly donations are especially valuable, particularly for sustaining the safe house in Kenya.
