As the province of Manitoba prepares to receive a charter flight of Ukrainian refugees next week, volunteers on the ground say housing for arriving residents is a persistent concern.
Ottawa announced that the first of three Ukrainian refugee charter flights to Canada would land in Winnipeg next Monday.
“The process of trying to find accommodation for all of them at once is very daunting, and it will be a lot of work trying to find them places to stay,” said Ostap Skrypnyk of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Manitoba Provincial Council.
Skrypnyk said the provincial government is covering the cost of the refugees staying in a hotel for as long as it takes for them to find suitable housing. The challenge, he says, is to find “good accommodations … that are up to some standards” so that the refugees can be on their own as soon as possible.
The community has stepped up to help with accommodation, but Skrypnyk says it would be better for the refugees to have a separate unit.
“A lot of people volunteered to host in their homes, but that’s not ideal either, because a room in a house is one thing. Having your own apartment or your own building is something else entirely, right? It gives independence to people.” persons”. he said.
The wave of new refugees will have to deal with the existing demand for housing throughout Manitoba.
According a February report from the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation, supply exceeded demand in Winnipeg by as much as 1,000 units.
Another prominent issue, which Skrypnyk says may affect the housing situation, is the type of financial support refugees will receive.
The refugees aboard the charter flight will arrive in Winnipeg under the Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization program.
Skrypnyk says that even though the program was announced some time ago, “there are a lot of question marks,” including “what kind of support are they going to be able to get at first financial support in the first few months that they’re here.”
The median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Winnipeg is $1,317, according to the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation report.
All hands in the deck
Volunteers are expected to play an important role in welcoming and settling Ukrainians.
Nick Krawetz, a UCC volunteer, says he is confident everything will be ready to welcome them.
“With the arrival of these larger numbers, everything will be ready, for the next week and a half or so, and we will be ready,” Krawetz said.
Krawetz was standing in front of clothing, non-perishable food, household items, children’s items and baby items, among other items donated by the public.
Volunteers will help greet families at the airport. Volunteers will also help with translation, among other things.
Krawetz says he believes Winnipeg was chosen as the first destination to receive a Ukrainian refugee charter flight because of the model that exists in the province, starting with a welcome desk at the airport.
“Since we opened that desk on April 15, there have been over 250 people,” Krawetz said.
He said the refugees are directed from there to the provincial government reception center at the Best Western at 1715 Wellington Ave.
Krawetz described the arrangement as a “one stop shop” where newcomers can apply for health cards, obtain a Social Security number and register for housing and child care, among other things.
Anyone who wants to donate goods or supplies can do so through the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Provincial Council of Manitoba.
feel like home
Olaonipekun Shodiya and Oksana Kobysh-Shodiya and their two daughters, Hloriia, six, and Greis, three, perused the items on display at the UCC on Wednesday to furnish their new apartment.
They say they fled from kyiv to Ireland in March. They then flew to Winnipeg via Toronto last month.
The Kobyshs say they had lived in kyiv since 2014. They had just started their marriage, had two children and a business, and Kobysh-Shodiya was a family doctor there.
Shodiya says they chose Manitoba because there is a large Ukrainian community and they knew they could get help quickly. They contacted volunteers in Toronto who found them a host family in Winnipeg.
“Since we arrived at their house, everything has been going very, very well. They have been welcoming us and helping us with documents and other items,” Shodiya said.
Shodiya says that when they watch the news of what’s going on at home, any discomfort they have here “is nothing to write home about.”
Kobysh-Shodiya said she is eager to sort through her documents and find schools, jobs and language courses.
He said they also hope to “start living and believing in the future.” They expressed their gratitude to Canada and to all who donated.
“Ukraine is a beautiful country, but the salary you have in Ukraine is not like a Canadian salary. For us to come to this country, we need a lot of money, so this little help is already a big help,” Kobysh-Shodiya said.
Reference-www.cbc.ca