Providing relief to the poor · کمکرسانی و رفاه اجتماعی
Food at the festivals, emergency help when a month goes wrong, company for seniors living alone, and a Persian-speaking counsellor when it's needed. Confidential, dignified, and open to anyone in the local community — in Coquitlam, Langley and across Metro Vancouver.
Small, direct and practical. Most of it is done by volunteers dropping something at a door.
Before Nowruz and Shab-e Yalda, families in hardship receive a basket with the food the night calls for — rice, herbs, fruit, sweets, a sabzeh or a pomegranate — so that the celebration happens regardless. Delivered discreetly in Coquitlam, Langley and nearby.
One-time help with an urgent bill — rent shortfall, utilities about to be cut, a prescription, a transit pass to get to work — from a small fund, decided within days, case by case.
Grocery cards for families between paycheques or benefits, and help registering with the local food bank if a longer bridge is needed.
A weekly social afternoon in Persian with tea, music and company, phone check-ins for elders living alone, and rides to medical appointments with a volunteer who can translate.
A list of Persian-speaking counsellors and psychologists, including low-cost and sliding-scale options, and a monthly peer support circle for newcomers and for parents.
Coats and boots in November, backpacks and supplies in August, matched to what families tell us they need. Donated new or gently used, sorted by volunteers.
How it works
Send the short request below, email, or call and leave a message in Persian. One volunteer from the relief team calls you back, usually within two days — by phone, Zoom or Teams, whichever you prefer — to understand what would help. That volunteer is the only person who sees your name.
We don't ask about immigration status, we don't require documents for food or essentials, and we don't keep a record beyond what the year's accounting needs. For emergency financial help we'll ask to see the bill, and we pay it directly where we can.
If a neighbour, a teacher or a doctor is worried about a family, they can send the request on their behalf. We'll reach out gently.
The relief fund is the first thing to run dry every spring. Gifts of any size go straight to food, bills and essentials.