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Gathered around a colourful cake in their southeast townhouse, the Al Masalmeh family sing Happy Birthday to baby Mohammad, born one year ago just days after their arrival in Canada.

It’s a joyous moment, marking both Mohammad’s birthday and the family’s first year in their new home.

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But for this family and many other government-sponsored Syrian refugees in Calgary, the financial supports sustaining them are shifting and, in some cases, ceasing altogether.

With federal funding for Syrian newcomers ending after 12 months, families are struggling to navigate the bureaucracy of local and provincial agencies stepping in to fill the void. Many families are also in the process of either renewing their leases or seeking new accommodations as introductory rental rates begin to expire.

For the Al Masalmeh family, it’s meant some tight monthly budgeting.

“We are limited to what we can buy,” says Seham, through an interpreter. “Just the basics and it’s not always enough, even for milk and bread. There is nothing left over.”