Sacramento: As the United States prepares to accept the following 100,000 Ukrainian refugees RussiaInvasion of their country, existing communities in cities such as Sacramento and Seattle are already mobilizing to provide food, shelter and aid to those fleeing the war.
The federal government has not said when the formal resettlement process will begin, but Ukrainian groups in the US are already providing aid to people entering the country through other channels, including visas that eventually expire. Or will fly to Mexico and cross. Limit.
“No refugee is waiting for you to prepare for them,” said senior pastor Eduard Kislyanka of House of Bread Church near Sacramento, which is sending teams of people to Poland and home to dozens of its member families. Preparing to live.” Coming to California.
An estimated 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine and millions more displaced within the country since the war began in late February. President Joe Biden said last week that the US would accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and provide $1 billion in humanitarian aid to countries affected by the exodus.
The federal government has not yet provided a timeline for refugee resettlement _ often a lengthy process _ or details of where refugees will be resettled. It is unlikely that the United States will see a huge influx of Ukrainians on charter and military flights, as it did with Afghan refugees last year.
Krish O’Mara Vignaraja, President of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said white House The commitment to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians does not come with a minimum. Apart from the refugee resettlement program, their main route would be to demand humanitarian parole and appear at the border with Mexico, she said.
Many arriving in the United States will likely move to cities that already have strong Ukrainian communities.
According to census data analyzed by the Migration Policy Institute, the Sacramento area is home to the highest concentration of Ukrainian migrants in the country, with approximately 18,000 people. The Seattle, Chicago and New York City areas are also hubs.
Word is spreading about available resources in Sacramento, where churches such as the House of Bread are connecting Ukrainians who have already arrived with host families who can offer shelter and help access to government resources and transportation. can do. Kislyanka called the church’s actions a “stop gap” measure designed to help as people wait for more clarity about the formal government rehabilitation process.
Kislyanka, who came to America as a child in the early 1990s, said, “Most of these people have no connections, like they don’t know anyone here.” “Having someone who can help them navigate the cultural shock and navigate the system. , , It just makes things a lot easier and easier. ,
Sacramento has been a destination for Ukrainians since the late 1980s and early 1990s, when many of those who arrived were Christians who followed a US law offering entry to anyone who escaped religious persecution in the former Soviet Union. were taking advantage of.
Another wave of refugees began to arrive after Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Since then 3,000 of the 8,000 Ukrainians resettled by the organization World Relief have come to Sacramento, said Vanasa Hamra, the group’s community engagement manager in Sacramento.
In addition to the dozens of Slavic churches in the Sacramento area, there are schools that primarily serve Ukrainian and Russian students. Eastern European grocery stores and restaurants offer favorite foods such as borscht, a type of beet soup, and vareniki, a steamed dumpling. Businesses started by Ukrainians try to hire others from their country.
All of this makes it easier for young people to maintain a sense of connectedness to their heritage and for older immigrants to adapt without becoming fluent in a new language and culture.
“It’s very easy when you come here. Every door, it’s open to you, said Alexandra Datsenko, who came to America six years ago and worked as a waitress at the Firebird Russian restaurant serving Eastern European cuisine in a Sacramento suburb.
Valery Goloborodko, who immigrated to Southern California in 2006, wanted to return to Ukraine until he settled with his wife in the Seattle area. There, he found a thriving Ukrainian community and in 2015 became the country’s honorary consul in Seattle, helping to organize an annual festival where 16,000 people a day gather to feast on traditional food, listen to Ukrainian musicians and dress up. Show. Traditionally embroidered clothes.
“The Ukrainian community in Washington helped me feel like I was at home and this is my home now,” Goloborodko said. “We think it’s a small Ukraine.’
Since the invasion, Goloborodko and others have lobbied strongly for support from state officials in the Washington State Ukrainian community. Democratic Governor Jay Inslee has vowed Washington would welcome Ukrainians fleeing violence. The legislature has set aside about $20 million to help pay the estimated cost of housing, job training, health care and legal aid for refugees from Ukraine. The Port of Seattle has promised to help welcome refugees to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where they can begin connecting to services.
In Sacramento, meanwhile, the state’s housing crisis could prove challenging as resettlement and community organizations look for housing for new arrivals. Like much of California, the region is facing a housing shortage with limited supplies and rising rents.
“People are coming here; We can help them; We can provide anything. But it’s going to sink in so quickly,’ said Kislyanka, the head priest of the House of Bread.
IRC Sacramento Director Lisa Welz said the Sacramento branch of the International Rescue Committee has an affiliated Immigration Reception Center that is already assisting people entering the country illegally. Many are terrified of engaging with resettlement agencies, but resources are needed—especially housing—as well as navigating the immigration system to see if they can find a legal way to live. help in.
When the more formal rehabilitation process begins, “we’ve been told we just need to wait,” Welz said.
The federal government has not said when the formal resettlement process will begin, but Ukrainian groups in the US are already providing aid to people entering the country through other channels, including visas that eventually expire. Or will fly to Mexico and cross. Limit.
“No refugee is waiting for you to prepare for them,” said senior pastor Eduard Kislyanka of House of Bread Church near Sacramento, which is sending teams of people to Poland and home to dozens of its member families. Preparing to live.” Coming to California.
An estimated 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine and millions more displaced within the country since the war began in late February. President Joe Biden said last week that the US would accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and provide $1 billion in humanitarian aid to countries affected by the exodus.
The federal government has not yet provided a timeline for refugee resettlement _ often a lengthy process _ or details of where refugees will be resettled. It is unlikely that the United States will see a huge influx of Ukrainians on charter and military flights, as it did with Afghan refugees last year.
Krish O’Mara Vignaraja, President of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said white House The commitment to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians does not come with a minimum. Apart from the refugee resettlement program, their main route would be to demand humanitarian parole and appear at the border with Mexico, she said.
Many arriving in the United States will likely move to cities that already have strong Ukrainian communities.
According to census data analyzed by the Migration Policy Institute, the Sacramento area is home to the highest concentration of Ukrainian migrants in the country, with approximately 18,000 people. The Seattle, Chicago and New York City areas are also hubs.
Word is spreading about available resources in Sacramento, where churches such as the House of Bread are connecting Ukrainians who have already arrived with host families who can offer shelter and help access to government resources and transportation. can do. Kislyanka called the church’s actions a “stop gap” measure designed to help as people wait for more clarity about the formal government rehabilitation process.
Kislyanka, who came to America as a child in the early 1990s, said, “Most of these people have no connections, like they don’t know anyone here.” “Having someone who can help them navigate the cultural shock and navigate the system. , , It just makes things a lot easier and easier. ,
Sacramento has been a destination for Ukrainians since the late 1980s and early 1990s, when many of those who arrived were Christians who followed a US law offering entry to anyone who escaped religious persecution in the former Soviet Union. were taking advantage of.
Another wave of refugees began to arrive after Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Since then 3,000 of the 8,000 Ukrainians resettled by the organization World Relief have come to Sacramento, said Vanasa Hamra, the group’s community engagement manager in Sacramento.
In addition to the dozens of Slavic churches in the Sacramento area, there are schools that primarily serve Ukrainian and Russian students. Eastern European grocery stores and restaurants offer favorite foods such as borscht, a type of beet soup, and vareniki, a steamed dumpling. Businesses started by Ukrainians try to hire others from their country.
All of this makes it easier for young people to maintain a sense of connectedness to their heritage and for older immigrants to adapt without becoming fluent in a new language and culture.
“It’s very easy when you come here. Every door, it’s open to you, said Alexandra Datsenko, who came to America six years ago and worked as a waitress at the Firebird Russian restaurant serving Eastern European cuisine in a Sacramento suburb.
Valery Goloborodko, who immigrated to Southern California in 2006, wanted to return to Ukraine until he settled with his wife in the Seattle area. There, he found a thriving Ukrainian community and in 2015 became the country’s honorary consul in Seattle, helping to organize an annual festival where 16,000 people a day gather to feast on traditional food, listen to Ukrainian musicians and dress up. Show. Traditionally embroidered clothes.
“The Ukrainian community in Washington helped me feel like I was at home and this is my home now,” Goloborodko said. “We think it’s a small Ukraine.’
Since the invasion, Goloborodko and others have lobbied strongly for support from state officials in the Washington State Ukrainian community. Democratic Governor Jay Inslee has vowed Washington would welcome Ukrainians fleeing violence. The legislature has set aside about $20 million to help pay the estimated cost of housing, job training, health care and legal aid for refugees from Ukraine. The Port of Seattle has promised to help welcome refugees to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where they can begin connecting to services.
In Sacramento, meanwhile, the state’s housing crisis could prove challenging as resettlement and community organizations look for housing for new arrivals. Like much of California, the region is facing a housing shortage with limited supplies and rising rents.
“People are coming here; We can help them; We can provide anything. But it’s going to sink in so quickly,’ said Kislyanka, the head priest of the House of Bread.
IRC Sacramento Director Lisa Welz said the Sacramento branch of the International Rescue Committee has an affiliated Immigration Reception Center that is already assisting people entering the country illegally. Many are terrified of engaging with resettlement agencies, but resources are needed—especially housing—as well as navigating the immigration system to see if they can find a legal way to live. help in.
When the more formal rehabilitation process begins, “we’ve been told we just need to wait,” Welz said.