Support, housing offered for those fleeing the war in Ukraine and heading to B.C.

Charities and churches in the province are preparing to help welcome people arriving in B.C. after fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Organizations are working on fundraising and lining up housing offers for those escaping the conflict, while some have already managed to make it to Canada.

At the Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in New Westminster, Pastor Rev. Mykhailo Ozorovych said offers of support have been coming in all forms.

"We have people stopping by and offering a symbolic small donation but more so their prayer and their thoughts and their concern for Ukraine and their co-suffering with the people of Ukraine, which means a lot," he said. "Which is priceless."

The church is now preparing to help people who are fleeing the war by compiling a database of housing offers for those who will be coming to B.C.

"We have people from Williams Lake who called in and said we’d be happy to drive down to Vancouver to pick up a family or two to bring to our community," he said. "We had somebody from the Sunshine Coast saying there’s space for two familes to live and work at our resort, and many local people from (the) Lower Mainland offering their homes or just a bedroom."

More than 1.5 million people have already fled Ukraine, according to the United Nations. An application process for emergency travel to Canada is expected to be available in the coming weeks for those who want to stay temporarily.

Some people have already arrived, including Kateryna Paliukh’s mother in Victoria.

"They probably took an hour to pack everything that they could take with them and then flee," she said. "It was a very stressful week."

Devon Sereda Goldie with the Victoria branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress said the group has raised more than $15,000 to help support those arriving.

"We’ve already had a couple of families reunited," she said. "There’s many, many more working towards coming here."

The Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral is also fundraising, and will be holding a take-out perogy and food sale this Saturday.

Rev. Ozorovych said they have already secured an apartment for a mother of two who has a Canadian passport and is now returning with her sons.

"She doesn't have any family here, any relatives, any job waiting for her, so we’re helping her," he said. "It’s incomprehensible right now to be able to make sense of what’s happening in Ukraine, but we are preparing as much as we can."

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