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  "description": "The Scarborough project is inspired by the late Rafia Haniff-Cleofas, a co-founder of DEEN and a pioneer in Canada’s disability rights movement. Her final dream before passing in late 2025 was to see this home built in Scarborough.",
  "path": "/2026/scarboroughs-first-faith-centered-residence-for-muslims-with-disabilities/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-16T14:30:16.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.iqra.ca",
  "tags": [
    "https://www.deensupportservices.ca/scarborough-home"
  ],
  "textContent": "In the heart of Scarborough, a long-held vision for community belonging is closer to becoming a reality.\n\nFor years, Muslim families caring for loved ones with disabilities have faced a significant gap in the social support system—a lack of professional care that respects their faith, culture, and dietary needs.\n\nToday, DEEN Support Services is closing that gap as it nears the completion of Scarborough’s first permanent Islamic care home.\n\n### **The Vision for Stability and Dignity**\n\nThe Scarborough Home is an ambitious $1.5 million project designed to provide a permanent sanctuary for adults with physical disabilities, autism, and other special needs.\n\nUnlike temporary programs or rental spaces, this will be a community-owned asset intended to offer stability and dignity for generations.\n\nThe progress has been remarkable: through corporate commitments and private donations, DEEN has already secured $1.25 million—representing 83% of the total goal.\n\nThe organization is now calling on the community to help close the final $250,000 \"gap\" to secure the property.\n\n### **An Urgent Community Need**\n\nStatistics highlight why this project is so critical.\n\nWhile approximately one in four Canadians lives with a disability, the figure is estimated at 27% within the Muslim community. Despite this, faith-based services remain nearly non-existent.\n\nFor many parents, the future is a source of deep anxiety.\n\nOrganizers share the story of one mother who prayed her daughter would pass away before her, fearing no one would care for her child once she was gone.\n\nThe Scarborough Home is designed specifically to answer that prayer.\n\n### **Leadership and the Legacy of Rafia Haniff-Cleofas**\n\nThe driving force behind DEEN Support Services (Disability Empowerment Equality Network) is founder and CEO Rabia Khedr, a prominent advocate for disability justice.\n\nThe organization operates on the principle of \"Nothing about us without us,\" ensuring that individuals with disabilities are at the center of all decision-making.\n\nThe Scarborough project is inspired by the late Rafia Haniff-Cleofas, a co-founder of DEEN and a pioneer in Canada’s disability rights movement.\n\nHaving contracted polio as a child, she navigated life from a wheelchair and spent 25 years teaching that accessibility is a fundamental pillar of faith.\n\nHer final dream before passing in late 2025 was to see this home built in Scarborough.\n\n### **The Path to 2027**\n\nWith the finish line in sight, the goal is to open the doors of the Scarborough Home by 2027.\n\nThis final phase of the campaign represents communal ownership, where every contribution—whether \"naming a room\" or \"laying a brick\"—moves the project closer to reality.\n\nSupporting this mission is an opportunity to create _Sadaqah Jariyah_ (ongoing charity) that will provide comfort to residents long into the future.\n\nWhen the doors finally open, it will be more than a residence; it will be a testament to a community’s promise that no one should be left behind.\n\nFor more information on the project see: https://www.deensupportservices.ca/scarborough-home",
  "title": "Scarborough’s First Faith-Centered Residence for Muslims with Disabilities",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-16T14:47:06.293Z"
}