Since Russia invaded Ukraine one year ago this week, the Canadian government has put in measures to help Ukrainians both inside and outside of the country, but a local group says there isn’t enough support.
WR Grassroots Response, a volunteer-led group helps connect refugees to host families, said some refugees are still struggling.
Taras Antoniv fled Ukraine for a better life and is now in Waterloo region. With the help of a translator, he told CTV News he has already faced challenges in Canada.
“It’s difficult to come [to a] new country with no language, without Canadian job experience, without money,” Antoniv said.
Antoniv said he was at risk of homelessness just last week when his federally funded hotel stay came to an end.
That is when Grassroots Response stepped in to help.
“His response right away within five minutes was ‘I’m going to be evicted in two hours and there’s no other options,’” Stephanie Goertz, an organizer from the group said.
Grassroots Response said they’ve received four other similar requests for those in need of emergency stays.
Goertz is calling on the federal government to provide more housing support for newcomers.
“They got a one-time amount of $3,000 per adult and $1,500 per child, one time. That’s it. They get no support for housing, no support with food or other financial assistance. They’re left on their own,” said Goertz.
The Canadian government provides up to 14 nights of temporary accommodation for Ukrainians fleeing the war but that stay can’t be extended. CTV News reached out to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for comment but did not hear back by Wednesday evening.
“We’ve built something that’s going to fail these Ukrainian families,” Goertz worried.
Goertz said they have 18 families slated to come in the next five weeks that do not have hosts.
Anyoniv has since been put up at the Hillside Residence in the town of Maryhill, where 19 other Ukrainians are also living until they find more permanent housing.
Karen Martin runs Hillside and is encouraging other hosts to open their doors to newcomers
“They want to get paperwork. They want to get working. They want to be a contributing member of Canadian culture,” said Martin. “These people are amazing and they are dealing with all that at the same time.”
Despite the challenges Antoniv has faced, he is happy to have found a temporary home away from the conflict.
“It’s too difficult to return to Ukraine because of war,” Antoniv said.
