Waterloo region grassroots group sees rise in demand to help Ukrainians fleeing war

A year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the flow of people leaving their homes in Ukraine and moving to Waterloo region has not slowed down, says Stephanie Goertz, an organizer with the Waterloo Region Grassroots Response to the Ukrainian Crisis.

Part of that, she says, is because other groups in the province have reached their capacity at helping people find homes.

"The number of people filling out applications now has increased because we're one of the last group standing," she told Craig Norris, host of CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition.

According to the Canada Border Services Agency, more than 860,000 applications have been filed with the federal government, and more than 550,000 have been approved. Out of these approved visas, only about 167,500 have been used to enter Canada between Jan. 1, 2022 and Feb. 19 of this year. 

There are other groups in Waterloo region who are helping Ukrainians settle here.

The Woolwich Community Health Centre supports the Ukrainian Guest House in St. Jacobs. Rosslyn Bentley, the centre's executive director, said in an email that the house has hosted 14 families and 44 people to date.

On average, families stay about three months in the house, the former Jakobstettel County Inn bed and breakfast, before they are able to find work and move out on their own.

Earlier this year, the Hillside Residence in Maryhill opened its doors to Ukrainians fleeing the war. It has 12 bedrooms and shared living spaces.

Goertz says it is difficult to know how many people have settled in Waterloo region. 

"You lose them, they lose track of them. There's no accountability of where these people are going," Goertz said.

Waterloo Region Grassroots Response to the Ukrainian Crisis came together after war broke out in Ukraine last year. Goertz and other local residents wanted to help fleeing Ukrainians however they could.

Goertz rallied the support of local residents to volunteer and held many public meetings in the group's early days to figure out how to organize their efforts.

Now the group has 500 volunteers who collect donations of winter clothing, make cookies, connect new arrivals with resources and transportation and even offer up rooms in their own homes as temporary residences for families to get settled.

"We have had over 700 applications for support for either housing rental units or they're looking for help with employment or food. And so we're trying to track all those numbers and information, but we do know we have helped to find hosts or homes for around 144," Goertz said.