They fled Ukraine, fearing gay persecution. Now they're finding community in N.L.

Alex Bezer says the past year has been tough.

Bezer and his partner were forced to flee their home after Russia's war in Ukraine began. He said they spent time in a refugee camp before moving to Newfoundland and Labrador about six months ago.

In an interview with CBC News, Bezer said the threat of homophobic violence com‐ pounded that already-difficult journey — and when they got to this province, they knew they needed help.

"I wasn't feeling emotion‐ ally stable," he said in an inter‐ view with CBC News. "We didn't feel safe and we need‐ ed some supports."

One day, Bezer said he saw a poster outside the Associa‐ tion for New Canadians office, advertising a peer support program for gay, lesbian, bi‐ sexual and gender-di‐ verse newcomers. He got in touch with program co-ordi‐ nator Kimberly Offspring.

Offspring answered their questions about life for mem‐ bers of the LGBTQ communi‐ ty in St. John's, and within weeks, Bezer and his partner attended their first meeting.

"We feel like, a bit, we've got our chosen family," he said.

Bezer said members talk about coming out, family situ‐ ations and more. He said he's become more comfortable since joining the group — and now volunteers helping oth‐ ers from Ukraine and Russia navigate life in this province.

The program is part of a five-year joint research pro‐ ject from the YWCA St. John's and Memorial University look‐ ing at service gaps for LGBTQ newcomers. Offspring leads the project in collabora‐ tion with Memorial University social work professor Sulai‐ mon Giwa.

"LGBTQ+ newcomers often face a combination of homo‐ phobia, transphobia, racism, xenophobia," Offspring said. "We really wanted to get a better understanding of the experiences that folks are having."

A safe space

The project has been in the works since 2020, but di‐ rect support for newcomers — a monthly peer support group and an individual men‐ torship program — began last year.

"[The peer support group is] confidential, it's a nonjudgmental space where peo‐ ple can get together and dis‐ cuss shared experiences and support each other," she said.

Offspring said the group includes Afghan refugees, Ukrainians and others. Partici‐ pants share experiences of coming out, navigating identi‐ ty and settlement issues, said Offspring.

"We often hear from folks that, before attending our group, they've never been in a space where they felt truly safe and comfortable to be themselves," she said.

Giwa, who also serves as the dean of MUN's social work faculty, said research about LGBTQ newcomers is still in its infancy, and the re‐ search project is meant to give a baseline understanding of the challenges individuals face.

He said there are issues of safety which cause LGBTQ newcomers to flee their country of origin — but newcomers still face problems in Canada.

"In mainstream Canadian society there's still homopho‐ bia," he said.

Giwa said he's heard about problems accessing health care, barriers caused by insti‐ tutional racism and a lack of community connection — and for LGBTQ+ newcomers, those issues are interconnect‐ ed.

"That's why it's really im‐ portant that we are doing this research, that we're trying to understand some of the chal‐ lenges that people are facing and how can we best inter‐ vene to support individuals," he said.

'I am there for them' Melissandra Groza recently volunteered to be a mentor for LGBTQ newcomers. She said the role includes every‐ thing from providing emo‐ tional support to helping newcomers navigate the bus system or get groceries.

Groza said she remembers feeling lonely when she ar‐ rived in Newfoundland and Labrador from Bangladesh in 2018.

"I was disconnected in many ways," she said. "I did not have a community. I did not know the community, the queer community here. It took me about two years to fully get in touch."

Groza, a transgender woman, said she fled a part of the world where she wasn't accepted — and trying to build a new life by herself was painful.

"I always wished — only if I had someone who taught me, you know, how to do stuff," she said.

Now, as a mentor, Groza said she hopes to provide the support she wishes she re‐ ceived when she moved to the province — and she's ben‐ efiting from the role too.

"I am there for them — I find my own healing helping others."

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