Romero House

What Romero House does

Romero House is a Toronto-based registered charitable organization (legal name: Toronto Refugee Community Non-profit Homes and Services; BN 134470939RR0001) that provides transitional housing and immigration/settlement support for newly arrived refugee claimants in Canada. Founded in 1989 by Mary Jo Leddy and led today by Executive Director Francesca Allodi-Ross, the organization operates four Romero houses plus a community centre in Toronto's Bloor West Village, with an additional property, Edna Lane House, opened in 2024/2025 to house 8 additional families. The organization supports 10 refugee claimant families at a time with one-year transitional housing, and assisted over 300 refugee claimants in a single year with housing, legal connections, employment support, and settlement services.

Romero House's core service offering is a wraparound accompaniment model rather than a discrete product. Services include transitional housing, refugee claims and work/study permit assistance, healthcare navigation through the Interim Federal Health Program, school and ESL enrollment, income assistance applications, and a free clothing boutique. Delivery is anchored by live-in House Coordinators, a Community Host Program that matches refugees with local families offering spare bedrooms, and a volunteer pipeline (including ~6 new Worker program participants per year). Partnerships with the Canadian Council for Refugees, FCJ Refugee Centre, City of Toronto (Central Intake), Legal Aid Ontario, and York University (on SSHRC-funded research) extend the service surface. The technology stack is standard for a small charity: WordPress website, Mailchimp email marketing, and basic office tools; there are no proprietary software products.

Romero House generates no revenue from service fees; all services are free to beneficiaries. Funding comes from individual donations (one-time and monthly recurring), securities donations, material donations (furniture, clothing), and event fundraising including the annual Romero Moves 5K, TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon participation, and the Howcroft Lecture. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors, with no parent company. Financial details are not publicly disclosed. The organization actively engages in refugee rights advocacy, having publicly opposed Bill C-2 and Bill C-12, and participating in the Supreme Court of Canada challenge to the Safe Third Country Agreement.

Name

Romero House

Legal name

Toronto Refugee Community Non-profit Homes and Services

Website

https://romerohouse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Romero House is a Toronto-based registered charity providing one-year transitional housing and immigration/settlement support to newly arrived refugee claimants, operating four houses plus a community centre and supporting over 300 claimants annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee Settlement Services

NAICS

Temporary Shelters (624221), Community Housing Services (62422), Other Community Housing Services (624229)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Refugee housing services
• Immigration settlement support
• Transitional housing programs
• Refugee resettlement services
• Newcomer support programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Financial contributions from individual donors, including one-time and monthly recurring donations. Tax receipts issued for donations $20 and greater.
2. Securities Donations: Accepts donations of stocks and securities as a meaningful contribution method.
3. Material Donations: Accepts furniture, housewares, and clothing donations to support refugee families. Donations accepted Monday-Wednesday 10am-4pm.
4. Event Fundraising: Annual events such as Romero Moves (5km run/walk/roll), TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon participation, and community fundraising events.
5. Charitable Organization: Registered charitable organization (BN/Registration 134470939RR0001). Charitable name: Toronto Refugee Community Non-profit Homes and Services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Romero House is a Toronto-based charitable organization that provides transitional housing and immigration and settlement support for newly arrived refugee claimants. The organization operates four houses plus a community centre in the Bloor West Village neighbourhood, offering one-year housing accommodations along with wraparound support including immigration process assistance, legal aid connections, healthcare navigation, school and ESL enrollment, income assistance applications, and community integration programming. Services are delivered free of charge to beneficiaries through house coordinators who live in community with residents.

Product overview

Romero House is a Toronto-based charitable organization that offers a comprehensive ecosystem of services for newly arrived refugee claimants. The core offerings include transitional housing across multiple houses, immigration and settlement support services, and community integration programs. Services are delivered through House Coordinators who live in community with residents, a Community Host Program matching refugees with local families, volunteer engagement, and specialized support for health care navigation, income assistance applications, school enrollment, and ESL classes. Additional offerings include a free clothing boutique and annual programs such as Romero Moves (fundraising event) and the Howcroft Lecture series. The organization operates as a single unified service model focused on accompanying refugees through their settlement journey.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Transitional Housing Provides temporary housing accommodations for newly arrived refugee claimant families in Toronto across four houses in the Bloor West Village neighbourhood, offering safe and dignified living spaces for up to one year with wraparound support. Additional housing capacity was added with Edna Lane House in 2025 to accommodate eight more families.
• Immigration and Settlement Support Assists refugee claimants with understanding the refugee process, finding lawyers, applying for work permits, study permits, permanent residence, and citizenship applications. Provided free of charge to refugee claimants in Toronto.
• Community Host Program Matches refugee individuals or families with community hosts in Toronto who offer spare bedrooms in their homes along with friendship, guidance, and support for settling into Canadian life. Reached through a dedicated intake phone line.
• House Coordinator Program Places live-in workers (House Coordinators and Worker program participants) who facilitate community atmosphere, coordinate care, and support the wellbeing of refugee claimant families across Romero House properties.
• Health Care Navigation Helps refugee claimants access health care through the Interim Federal Health Program (IFH), including connecting to primary care, walk-in clinics, and emergency services. Delivered in partnership with the City of Toronto vaccine ambassador program.
• Income Assistance Application Support Assists refugee claimants in applying for Ontario government financial assistance, including help with phone calls and interpretation services when needed.
• School and ESL Enrollment Assistance

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports 10 newly arrived refugee families at a time with one-year transitional housing and wraparound support
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Romero House participates in CCR consultations and has joined the 'We're Better Together' public messaging campaign to grow public support for immigrants and refugees. The Executive Director attended CCR consultations in Winnipeg and Calgary where attitudes toward newcomers were studied.
• York University (Kathryn Tomko Dennler and Brianna Garneau)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022York University researchers published 'DEPORTING REFUGEES: Hidden Injustice in Canada' report with Romero House as community partner. SSHRC funded the project. Romero House contributed to research on the removals/deportation process.
• FCJ Refugee CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on vaccine ambassador program and developed work permit guide webinars in English and Spanish to help refugees navigate work permit applications.
• City of TorontocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with City of Toronto Central Intake phone line for shelter referrals. Also partnered on the vaccine ambassador program to address vaccine hesitancy among refugees and newcomers in the GTA.
• Legal Aid OntariocoreOthersReferral partner for refugee claimants who may qualify for financial support to pay for legal representation. Interpretation services available when applying.
• Church of St. Martin-in-the-FieldsminorOthersChurch provides venue for the annual Howcroft Lecture and Evening of Peace celebration events. Located at 151 Glenlake Avenue, Toronto.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Culture Link Settlement Services: Toronto settlement agency providing housing support, employment help, and integration services for newcomers and refugees with a similar community-embedded model.
• COSTI Immigrant Services: One of the largest settlement agencies in the Greater Toronto Area, providing housing, language training, and integration programs to newcomers and refugee claimants.
• Matthew House Refugee Shelter (Toronto): Toronto-based refugee housing organization providing temporary accommodation and settlement support to refugee claimants, directly comparable to Romero House in mission, geography, and one-year housing model.
• Homes First Foundation: Toronto non-profit operating transitional and supportive housing programs for vulnerable populations, including newcomers, refugees, and people experiencing homelessness.
• FCJ Refugee Centre: Toronto-based non-profit offering refugee settlement, legal aid, and integration support; an actual Romero House partner operating an analogous service mix in the same city.

Emerging players

• A-WAY (Across Boundaries) Refugee Mental Health Services: Toronto non-profit supporting racialized newcomers including refugees with mental health and settlement services; comparable mission and beneficiary profile, narrower housing scope.

Others

• Canadian Council for Refugees: National coalition that Romero House is an active member of; comparable because it shapes refugee policy and capacity-building resources impacting Romero House beneficiaries.

Regional players

• Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre (Waterloo Region): Canadian refugee settlement and healthcare-navigation organization for newly arrived refugee claimants; parallels Romero House's healthcare-navigation service but in a different Ontario region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/romerohouseTO
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@romerohouse7062/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/romerohousetoronto
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/romero-house-toronto
• Instagraminstagram.com/torontoromerohouse

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Romero House