Timmins Sikh temple offers shelter to struggling international students

The fall semester for post-secondary schools is fast approaching and some international students in Timmins are still struggling to find places to stay.

The city's Sikh temple has been offering shelter to students from India until they can find permanent solutions.

Students like Gurpreet Singh, a Northern College student who relied on the Gurdwara Sikh Sangat of Timmins for a roof and a bed in May, said the temple has been a place of refuge for newcomers.

"They are not familiar with the environment, as well as the people, so they don't know how to find their homes," said Singh, who is now sharing his Cedar Street South apartment with four other students.

"To remove the homesickness, most of the people give preference to live here."

The temple's second floor has five rooms, able to shelter four people each. It provides a bed, food and hot water for as long as people need. Landlords and renters also post notices of available rooms in the city.

Yaman Suneja recently arrived in Timmins from India and said he's been exhausting every option he can to try to find long-term accommodations. He said the temple doesn't pressure people to make their stays short but said while demand for shelter has been steady, so has demand for rentals.

"Definitely we want to make room for other upcoming students over here ... we want to move, but we are unable to move," said Suneja, adding that he's waiting on responses from several rentals.

"I've searched everywhere, but still four days I've been (staying here). I have no accommodation to live and move on."

Northern College previously said it was appealing to landlords and homeowners to offer rooms. Chief cultural officer Susan Hunter said the situation has improved, with most students now connected to accommodations.

"We don't have exact numbers on how many are still looking for a place to live but it's looking very good, the community's really come together," said Hunter.

"We have a WhatsApp (group) out there and it's very active, there's about 400 students on it that are helping each other."

The college said it has a couple of residence rooms still available and tries to help students find accommodations. However, many students prefer to customize their living situations beyond what the college offers.

Hunter said students often need to connect with each other to sort that out.

Many students from India, for example, prefer more congregate living styles, to stay more connected to fellow students.

While some international students said the wait for the right rental can take at least a week, they said the temple has a guilt-free, welcoming and culturally friendly atmosphere.

"They get an environment like they're family," said Singh.

Suneja worries that Indian males may be getting discriminated against in the local rental market, in favour of females, but said he appreciates being able to stay in a place where he can practise his religion and be around other people.

The temple's owners, Bahadur Singh Bains and Kanwaljit Kaur Bains, were not available to comment but their patrons said they appreciate their generosity.

"I know I'm in God's place," said Suneja.

September student intake is considered one of the busiest, with Northern College saying that the community needs to work together to offer rooms to students who wish to live and learn in the north.

Its fall semester classes start on Sept. 7.