Written by Emily Sweeney. Interview with Ashley Dewji (she/her) and Tyler Smith (he/him).

After visiting Banff National Park from Naples Florida, Ashley and Tyler conceived of a simple yet profound idea: to replace traditional holiday gift-giving with donations to meaningful causes that make a difference to their communities.

“Our desire to help came from my asking, ‘What do you get an 89-year old who’s lived a full life and has everything?” said Ashley. “We decided the best birthday gift we could give my grandmother was a donation to a charity she cared about deeply. She loved it, and rather than run around finding presents for everyone, Tyler and I were inspired to do something similar for Christmas gifts.”

While walking through downtown Banff on New Year’s Eve, a poster for YWCA Banff’s Hope for the Holidays Campaign caught their eye. Both Ashley and Tyler had a history of supporting women’s causes, inspired by their own families’ experiences. Moved by the YWCA’s mission to support women and their communities, they decided to take action.

Back at their hotel, they researched YWCA Banff online and were impressed by the impactful work being done. Determined to contribute, they decided to make a donation. They went to a local bank, obtained a check, and instead of mailing it, they personally delivered it to YWCA Banff.

Ashley recalls the interaction they had with the bank teller. “It was so funny, we went to the bank to get a check to make the donation and the teller said ‘Well if you want, you can actually just walk to their office, it’s right over the bridge.’So, that’s what we ended up doing.”

Ashley and Tyler’s decision to give while travelling in Banff was not just a one-time act of kindness. It marked the beginning of a new tradition for them. Each holiday season, they now plan to select a different charity to support, inspired by their travels and personal connections to various causes.

“Naples, like Banff, is a tourist destination. Sometimes people visit areas like Banff and forget that this is people’s home, you know?” says Ashley. She is reminded of families back home who are also struggling. “And even though it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world, many people here and back home are going through difficult times.”

Ashley and Tyler’s experience embodies the spirit of the Hope for the Holidays campaign, demonstrating the impact that thoughtful, deliberate acts of kindness can have.

“Big or small, it’s all about giving back to somebody else for everything that we’ve been given in our lives.” says Tyler. As they build on their new tradition, Ashley and Tyler hope to inspire others to think differently about gift-giving, making the world a better place, one charitable act at a time.

I checked in at YWCA Banff on a June afternoon in 2019. Outside, the town was bursting with summer colours and tourists roamed the streets in a sunny promenade. Inside the front doors of the YWCA, I stood at the front desk. For me, what felt like a long winter had begun.

Born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, I emigrated to Canada in 2014 and in 2016 I settled in Banff to work in the hospitality industry. After four years of hard work in pursuit of permanent residency, my application was submitted, and the Canadian dream seemed closer.

For many immigrants, the pathway to permanent residency may involve the need to endure workplaces that indulge in some forms of abuse, discrimination, or bullying. I was one of those immigrants. Like many of us, I tried my best to dodge the daily tortuous workplace interactions in an environment that, after months of unresolved stress, eventually led me to check into the local hospital with severe episodes of anxiety and panic attacks. Doctor’s orders sent me back to my staff house on sick leave.

During my sick leave, my employer evicted me from the staff house. This left me in a position of homelessness with no income due to my sickness, and my permanent residency process disrupted. Scared, heartbroken, and all alone, I reached out to the Community Engagement Specialist for the Foreign Workers Support Services at the Town of Banff.  He understood the complexity of my scenario and guided me to the Community Wellness Coordinator to solve my most urgent need: a roof over my head. I was referred to YWCA Banff.

The YWCA staff took immediate action: they made accommodation available and assigned a counsellor to assess my overall situation and support my mental health. At check-in, I was warmly greeted by the front desk clerk. Warmth had been a rare commodity and wasn’t something I had experienced for a long time. In that moment, I couldn’t begin to know how that warmth and security would surround me, holding me tight, for the duration of my stay at YWCA Banff.

I moved from program to program at the Y in order to access the housing and support I required to resolve my immigration challenges and manage my deteriorated mental and physical health. With no one to go back to in Mexico and nothing more to lose, I chose to walk through my trial with nothing more than the grit that I inherited from my deceased parents. The loss of all my family members in Mexico, compounding in my mind with the desperate situation in Canada after years of hard work, and my uncertain future in the country, took a toll on my physical and mental health. During the day, my walks in nature, some volunteering work, and the support of my counsellors and staff at the Y were a source of comfort. At night, sudden episodes of angst woke me up and kept me awake. In time, the tune of the worst-case scenario lullaby started to whisper in my ear: I was suicidal.

I remember the day my advisor at Foreign Workers Support Services mentioned that mine had been one of the most complicated scenarios they’ve had. I would not have made it without the support of YWCA Banff. Even through the great complexity, the YWCA was able to adapt to my needs. Their ability to adjust was instrumental in my journey and here’s why:

The team at YWCA Banff changed to meet the needs of my mental and physical health through their counselling services. I never felt alone. My voice was validated with a compassionate disposition. The team took time to understand my needs and offered possible solutions and resources in the community and in Calgary. When I got suicidal, they doubled their vigilance with close check-ups and more frequent counselling sessions. When I had a bad day, they cared enough to hand me a bag of groceries or thoughtful goodie bags with donated cosmetics and items they knew would make me smile. When my status in Canada changed to visitor, with no access to AHS, and I urgently needed medical attention, they supported me with funds to resolve ambulance expenses.

In my pilgrimage to resolve my immigration status, I needed to travel to Calgary to meet pro-bono lawyers and the Y absorbed the costs of the multiple round-trip shuttle services. When I needed more time due to the long waiting times at IRCC, they accommodated; when my savings were running low, they were flexible with housing payments, when COVID hit and the lucky strike I had by finding an employer under the LMIA stream in Banff was cancelled, they waited for me. When finally, the hiring process resumed, but I had to wait 5 more months to receive my work permit, they kept adapting. They kept supporting.

416 days passed between the day I checked in and the day I received my work permit. I was free! The joy and congratulations, the hugs and smiles of the staff and my counsellors are vivid in my memory. We made it! Every one of those 416 days was an opportunity and an invitation to support me, and my people at the Y took them all with great skill, compassion, and generosity. Sometimes, I had access to programs and services in place; but it was those special considerations and accommodations teamed up with Community Wellness and Foreign Workers Support Services and their generous adaptability that changed the course of events, kept me suspended, preventing me from hitting the ground.

My first day at work as a housekeeper with my renewed status as a worker is a day I’ll always remember. I felt so fortunate, and I was finally able to resume my PR process. I became a permanent resident of Canada in September of 2021. I bounced back to a meaningful life with a robust spirit. Since then, I have collaborated as a board member and co-chair at the Bow Valley Immigration Partnership and I became the Local Coordinator for the Shoe Project, a beautiful program for immigrant women with leadership potential who are enabled by a writing and public speaking program, to tell their stories of arrival in Canada through a pair of shoes.

Looking back, I realize that I cannot hate the hell I had to walk through, the story I’ve just told, because inside of it I found a diamond. Never in those dark days did I imagine there would be such light at the end. My fortune was to fall in the caring net that the YWCA Banff held tight for so long. Thank you for every “welcome home, Elia” at the end of the day, thank you for matching my parents’ grit, even at times when I was giving up, thank you for your skill, but also for your personal, generous choices, thank you for holding me up for as long as it took. I moved out of the Y in 2022, but for me, it will always be home.

Elia Marina Lopez
(she/her)
Past YWCA Banff Client