Support group looks to expand work with Ukrainian refugees
MORE THAN TWO YEARS AFTER
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the local organization that was set up to help those fleeing the war settle in the area has expanded its operations and changed its name. Waterloo Region Grassroots Response to the Ukrainian Crisis has dropped the “Waterloo Region” part of its name as it looks to expand to other communities across Ontario.
Founder Stephanie Goertz was at Elmira’s
Gale Presbyterian Church on Monday to shed light on what the group has done in the past two years. The Grassroots Response has had more than 850 people volunteer with their effort. Some 210 residents have been a host for newcomers, with some of those hosting up to six times.
“That does not include the churches we work with, the service clubs we work with, or just the general community groups you work with. Those are people that have signed up to volunteer in our application for and or hosted a family,” Goertz explained
The group has hosted some 1,500 individuals and families since it started tracking the stat about a month after its founding. It started its first transitional guest
house last February at the former Hillside residence in Maryhill and now runs 14 such homes.
Goertz notes similar groups founded across Canada subsequently had difficulty keeping pace with demand.
“I found that after that eight-month or one-year time period, many of them struggled to keep up their volunteer base, many of them really lost the energy,” she said. “And Grassroots grew
and we kept going,” she said, noting the group’s volunteers and word of mouth helped keep up the momentum.
While the response from volunteers has been strong, Goertz expressed concern that another 60,000 refugees could be on the way to the country over the next month. Dealing with any local increases will be difficult given the lack of provincial or federal funding.
Grassroots Response
did receive some grant funding from the region through which it is providing a subsidy of $350 to encourage more people to host refugees.
“What we’re hoping to do is that the hosting experience is such an amazing opportunity for people to welcome newcomers in their home, to make a difference. We don’t want to make it just available to people that can afford it,” Goertz explained.
As part of their expansion, Grassroots Response has now hired four Ukrainian staff members, including Inna Billaieva, who shared some of her story on Tuesday. Billaieva worked for the United Nations helping Ukrainian refugees in Romania last year, but briefly returned to Ukraine before deciding to leave again due to heavy bombing.
Arriving in Canada two weeks ago, she saw the condition of her fellow homelanders who arrived with her.
“Some people, they’re lost. Some people don’t speak English. Some people don’t have money. Most people don’t have money, but they have only hope. Hope that here they can receive some support and they can begin a new life. And there were so many stories, like someone lost a husband, some lost parents, lost children, and so many stories. But what I saw is that, unfortunately, not all people realize how to live in Canada,” she explained.
“I want to express my gratitude to Canada and to all people who accept our people here for all your help and support because of what you do. There are no words to express how grateful we are,” she added.
Tuesday’s presentation was part of a partnership between Gale and Grassroots Response that will include a fundraiser on May 14, said Doug Dann, chair of the church’s life and mission committee.
“The situation that’s unfolding in Ukraine bothers me because it is a war-torn country and what they’re struggling with, and innocent people are in dire need,” Dann said
“Right now, with the Ukrainian situation at hand, we want to do our part, to support the Grassroots effort to support these families and individuals coming from Ukraine.”