YMCA looking to recruit ‘host homes’ as Ukrainian refugees land in Hamilton

Sitting on a living room sofa on Mountain Brow Boulevard, Olena Sukhorukova looks as if she's right at home.

Her eight-year-old son Tymur is seated on her lap, as the two of them quietly whisper and giggle to one another in Ukrainian.

You wouldn't know they're more than 7,000 kilometres away from their home city they were forced to flee in the face of the Russian invasion earlier this year.

It was a lot of fear of the uncertain," said Sukhorukova, describing leaving her husband, house and friends behind in Kyiv. I had to pick between the two evils and try to choose the lesser one."

Their decision to leave Ukraine landed the pair in Hamilton in early May. They've been staying with longtime friends Yuriy and Tanya Nesvit ever since.

Sukhorukova, 44, is one of many Ukrainians being informally housed by families in the city as part of the war-fuelled refugee crisis.

But not all Ukrainians landing in Steeltown have the same local connections.

The YMCA of Hamilton-Burlington-Brantford (HBB) is hoping to fill that gap with a new program that aims to place Ukrainian families in host homes" as they settle into their new city.

The program places families in accommodations - either independently or within a household - for one to six months as they create a life here in Canada.

And even in its infancy, the program is already seeing huge demand," said Lily Lumsden, the senior regional manager of employment and immigrant services at the YMCA.

As of Monday, there were about 98 households - made up of more than 270 people - on the waiting list for a host home" in the region. It's a number Lumsden expects will continue to grow as more Ukrainians continue to arrive.

To become a host home, residents must apply online, said Lumsden. The organization is looking to build a pool of least 50 host homes in the surrounding area.

Through the application process, they must provide references, pass a criminal record check and answer a laundry list of questions regarding the kind of help they can provide.

Volunteers must also note things like what kind of housing it would be, whether or not it's accessible, how long a family could stay, the number of people they could accommodate and their spoken language.

She noted that host homes are not limited to families being placed directly into households, but can also include rental units such as basement suites, condos and apartments.

Lumsden said the vetting process is particularly thorough to ensure the refugees, who have fled war and trauma, are not put in vulnerable situations when they are already so vulnerable."

Hosts that are approved should expect to house a family for at least one to six months. They should also anticipate absorbing some costs that come with the program, as there is no direct compensation through the YMCA.

However, Lumsden said host homes could be reimbursed for some costs by the families themselves through a recently launched federal program.

Announced earlier this month, the one-time financial benefit will provide Ukrainians with a payment of $3,000 per adult and $1,500 per child to assist them with any resettlement needs.

Our conversations with the families, when we're placing them in host homes, is that this is the reason for those startup funds," said Lumsden. They're meant to be able to pay for things like food, the bus and some accommodations."

So far, more than a dozen host homes have completed the vetting process. The first Ukrainian family is expected to be housed in the coming days, according to the organization.

Lumsden said once a family has been placed, the YMCA will assist in areas such as helping get their children registered for school, assessing their English skills and eventually finding them more permanent housing.

She noted that organizations helping refugees arriving in Hamilton had previously utilized hotels as temporary accommodations, but with tourism gradually returning to the city, that option wasn't available.

But the new program comes with different benefits for new arrivals, she added.

They're hopeful that host families can help newcomers make connections in the city's Ukrainian community while allowing them to rest and decompress" in a family-oriented environment after fleeing their homes.

It really is a great way for a family that has experienced significant trauma to get their first taste of Canada," said Lumsden. It just makes so much more sense for those families and it helps them in a better way."

Although Sukhorukova isn't a part of the program, she said her stay with the Nesvit family has been crucial to her success settling in Hamilton.

They've helped her search for work, run errands and meet people in the city. They've also gone to Niagara Falls together and attended concerts.

I don't know what I'd do without them," said Sukhorukova, likening the experience to a vacation. I would feel overwhelmed."

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com