‘After two weeks, I finally smiled and laughed’
Ukrainians are finding host families, other services through city initiative
Two weeks before Eugene Mats’ 21-year-old daughter could finish her undergraduate degree, the family decided to flee Ukraine in the midst of the Russian invasion.
They ended up safe in Hamilton on April 12 — but they didn’t know anyone, or how to access local services and supports.
On Monday, the City of Hamilton and the Ukrainian Canada Congress’ Hamilton chapter hosted a drop-in event at the Ukrainian Catholic Church of Resurrection, to help people like the Mats family.
The Ukrainian Welcome and Information Centre brought together many services for the newly arrived Ukrainians under one roof — a first of its kind.
Bonnie Elder, the city’s director of Ontario Works and the Hamilton-Ukrainian humanitarian crisis response operations lead, said the city will continue to “operate this centre on an as-needed basis.”
“The goal for today’s event is twofold,” Elder said Monday. “First, to bring all community partners together to learn from each other, and to provide that one-stop access to individuals in the Ukrainian community.”
Elena Lazar, president of local Ukrainian Congress Canada chapter, said instead of all immigrants visiting organizations separately to seek help, “we decided to make it convenient for them by organizing an event at one place and hosting all services.”
Ontario Works was present at the event to provide temporary employment opportunities, while the local YMCA is assisting families with housing facilities in the area. A Service Ontario desk helped with information on accessing health cards and SIN details. Both Hamilton school boards — Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and Hamilton-Wentworth District Catholic School Board — were also present.
Mats, who was attending the fair with his wife, Tamara, told The Spectator he feels safe in Canada. “After two weeks, I finally smiled and laughed. It’s a safe country to start,” Mats said.
Patti Overgaard, who is hosting the Mats family in her Ancaster home, said Mats’ daughter has been feeling “emotionally drained” and “worried for her boyfriend’s safety.” He is still in Ukraine.
The family had met Overgaard on icanhelp.host — a site helping many with their search for hosts.
“We found Patti, and Patti found us,” Mats said. “We were homeless. She helped us with everything including documents, house and food.” Mats, who worked as a physiotherapist in Ukraine, said he is hoping to find work in Canada.
Overgaard, who owns an architecture business, said the Mats family is the second one she has helped since she started hosting Ukrainians last month. Overgaard doesn’t have any links with Ukraine, but hosting families “felt like the right thing to do.”
The local YMCA is also assisting Ukrainians with finding host homes.
Lily Lumsden, senior regional manager at YMCA, said some of the most important aspects of resettlement include finding safe and affordable housing, employment opportunities, and getting kids in schools or daycare.
Lumsden said the fair is important for connecting with the Ukrainian community. “You don’t know what you need until you do, and many families aren’t aware that these services are available.”
For those seeking accommodation or willing to host Ukrainian families, YMCA has made a form available on the City of Hamilton site. Lumsden said close to 30 families have signed up to host Ukrainian refugees in Hamilton since the form went live two weeks ago.
Mira Postma, a Ukrainian-Canadian, was at the service centre with her parents from Kyiv. Her parents, who don’t speak English, arrived in Canada on Good Friday.
“They feel at home when they’re with us but we’re working on building a community connection for them, so that they can learn English,” Postma said, noting they want to be “useful to the community and the family, and (are) hoping to find volunteer or employment opportunities.”