THUNDER BAY -- Every day there are people begging to come to Thunder Bay.
Phone calls from people hiding in church basements in France, emails from girls looking to escape arranged marriages, D.O.O.R.S. to New Life Services has people from all over the world pleading for help.
The organization, run through the Roman Catholic Diocese of Thunder Bay, wants to help them all. But time, money and seemingly endless red tape can make it difficult. A family of four from Iraq came to the city, sponsored by St. Anthony's Church, last year after more than four years.
And that's only because that family was processed as refugees through the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, along with a number.
Once that happens, they become one of millions waiting to be sponsored by any group of five people with around $30,000, what the organization estimates is needed to support the family for a year.
Ruberto said there are hundreds of thousands of people processed, waiting in refugee camps that could be sponsored by people in Thunder Bay.
"All it takes is a group of five people," she said.
But for the millions more who haven't been processed, like the daily images of migrants from Italy, Greece, Hungary, Turkey and other places, or the people begging every day to come to the city, there's not much that can be done.
There also needs to be the political will to open the country's doors to accept refugees.
"We can’t do anything for these people," D.O.O.R.S' Joanne Ruberto said.
"That's not possible unless the gates are open."
The Western world was shocked and angered Wednesday as an image of three-year-old Alan Kurdi lying lifeless on a beach in Turkey went viral.
"To see a little child like that on the beach, that just breaks your heart," Ruberto said.
Ruberto hopes that Canada will do more to open its doors to refugees.
"We have plenty of room here," she said.
To learn more about how you can help, visit this website.
