Our Story

The Peoples House opened its doors to refugees in January 2016.  In its first year it provided shelter for 49 refugees from 21 different countries.  The majority of residents at The Peoples House are refugee claimants.  These asylum seekers receive care and support at the house during their first few months in Canada.

The Peoples House is a ministry of The Peoples Church in Toronto, and was created in response to the question of how we as a church could best respond to the refugee crisis that is facing our country and our world.  Thousands of refugees are fleeing their homes due to danger and persecution.  They come from all around the world and seek a safe home and new beginning in Canada.  The Peoples House has responded to this need by providing a safe home for approximately 8 to 14 refugees at a time who would otherwise have no safe place in Toronto.

Psalm 46 represents The Peoples House’s vision.  It reads:

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

³ though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.^[c]

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.

⁹ He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shield with fire.

¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹ The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.