It takes a village ... Maryhill, in this case
Many volunteers help Ukrainians staying at Hillside Residence adjust to life in the region
find permanent homes.
“There’s been a few that have gone back to Europe because they feel they can’t make a go of it,” said Martin, who runs Hillside with the help of many volunteers, including her husband Bob, two former school principals and other retired teachers, who have helped both adults and children learn English.
However, she praised the Ukrainians’ “resilience” and willingness to look anywhere for paid work, despite saying it has “gotten harder to find jobs” during the past year.
“I think they are just a tough culture, but they just keep on looking,” explained the owner of Hillside, which can house a maximum of 22 people at a time and had been a retirement home until October 2022.
“They’re willing to move to other provinces. They’re willing to move up north and some of the ones that have stayed with me have moved up to the Palmerston or Listowel area because there’s factories up there.”
Martin, whose non-profit operation is funded by the charity Grassroots Response to The Ukrainian Crisis as well as a small fee paid by her residents, said steep travel costs and limited transit options, especially as there is no bus service in Maryhill, are among the biggest issues the Hillside Ukrainians face when they eventually find jobs.
With the price of used cars still 35 per cent higher than before the pandemic, according to a recent report, it has become even harder for the newcomers to afford a vehicle of their own.
Martin said many of her guests have had to pay for taxis to travel for work, which eats a huge chunk out of their incomes and then makes it even harder for them to save for a car or afford Waterloo Region’s rising rents.
Luckily, she can count on the support of several volunteers to drive residents to workplaces.
“I’ll give you an example,” she said. “We have a guy that’s working at Costco. For him to get there costs him $25 with a taxi and he tends to be put on the late shift.
“If he goes in and comes back, that’s $50 a day. There’s no point in that work. So what happens is, local people volunteer to drive him in whenever he does, and he takes a taxi or an Uber back and so it’s worth it for him then to work.”
She said many Maryhill neighbours feel “connected” to the Hillside Ukrainians and some have even invited them to their homes for a barbecue.
Another volunteer is retired teacher Cathi Erdman, who was motivated because of her family’s own immigrant roots as part of the world’s biggest Ukrainian dias