LC4Ukraine refugee support committee holds first meeting

The LC4Ukraine committee had its first virtual meeting Friday to plan for a possible influx of Ukrainian refugees to Lorain County and surrounding communities — all people fleeing their home country in the face of the now monthlong Russian invasion. The committee brought together government officials, community organizers, nonprofit agencies and the clergy to start planning for a population of refugees displaced by the war in Ukraine. The Rev. Dmitri Belenki of St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in South Lorain said he predicts there will be 10 million refugees — or 1 out of every 4 Ukrainians in the nation of about 44 million. "Since the Russians lose the war on the ground, they just bomb and destroy large cities," Belenki said. There are 6 million Ukrainians displaced within their own country alone, Belenki said, and he said to expect a "decent number" of those will be coming to the U.S. and Canada as refugees. Most of the 100,000 refugees that President Joe Biden said would be taken in by the United States are expected to go to larger metropolitan areas such as New York and Chicago, said the Rev. Steven Paliwoda of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lorain. Cleveland is expected to get a number of refugees, with its suburb Parma having the largest Ukrainian-American population in the state and "tons" of Ukrainian-speaking people including store owners, doctors and dentists, Paliwoda said. Clothing and other physical goods no longer are needed by Ukrainian refugees, Paliwoda said Friday. The best bet to help Ukraine is to send money by going online to stjosaphateparchy.com. The Ukrainian Catholic diocese already has collected $817,000 and sent $383,000 of that overseas to aid Ukrainian refugees in Europe, Paliwoda said. Other immediate needs include nonperishable food and medical supplies, he said. For any refugees arriving in Northeast Ohio and Lorain County, language and translation services are "going to be a major situation" when facing a large migration of non-English-speaking people, said Victor Leandry, executive director of El Centro. Leandry shared his learned experience with the mass migration of Puerto Ricans who came to the mainland U.S. in 2017 after Hurricane Maria. "Almost every family that came to our door" needed mental health services, including trauma counseling, Leandry said. He said he expects displaced Ukrainians will need that, too, "coming from a war zone where they saw people die, leaving everything behind, and now the trauma of moving to a community they don't know." Most refugees are expected to be women, children and the elderly because Ukrainian men ages 18 to 60 stayed behind to fight the Russians. "When husbands start rejoining families, they will need the counseling, too," Belenki said. Leandry showed the committee a guide printed in both Spanish and English that was given to those who escaped the hurricane and contained information on how to seek jobs, where to shop, how to obtain benefits, how to get an Ohio driver's license and the location of churches and governmental organizations. Cindy Kushner, director of School and Community Partnerships at Lorain County Community College, said the college would be willing to host a guide for Ukrainian refugees on its website and print copies to pass out to them upon arrival. She said the college offers some free "fast-track" programs and English language learning programs that could help teach refugees English and also help them get certified for jobs here. The college also has "processes to work around not having documents" as many refugees have fled their war-torn country without time to collect the proper paperwork, Kushner said. Leandry also recommended a local refugee fund for those coming to Lorain County be set up "so you don't have to go through so much red tape" with federal authorities. The Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority "has to be in this committee," he said, to help set up shelter in case of families who don't have anywhere else to stay. Some agencies and individuals in Friday's call said they were ready to start helping. Andrew Lipian — Elyria city councilman, I-Ward 1, and director of the Lorain County Records Center — said he speaks a little Ukrainian but knows "a lot of Ukrainians in this area, in Oberlin and Elyria" ready to volunteer with translation services. He said the city also is working on starting a fund to aid refugees. Stephanie Wiersma, president and CEO of Lorain County Health & Dentistry, told the committee that LCHD "will provide medical, prenatal, dentistry, optometry (eye glasses, too), and behavioral health services to persons of all ages." "We have translation/interpretation available. We will do our best to work through challenges. Happy to help however we can at our Lorain, Elyria and Oberlin health center sites," she wrote to the committee. Julie Chase-Morefield, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio, said her agency was interested in learning more about food that would be familiar to Ukrainian refugees and provide them comfort when they arrive. Refugees automatically qualify for Ohio Department of Job & Family Services benefits for licensing or continuing education, said Mike Longo, director of the Lorain County Workforce Development Agency. Rick Soto, who is Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley's chief of staff, said Bradley was hoping to put up flyers giving city employees information on how to donate to Ukraine. Bradley "is in total support" of the LC4Ukraine committee, he said. Lorain City Council members Rey Carrion, D-6th Ward, and Mitchell Fallis, D-at large, both attended and both voiced support for the effort Friday. Catholic Charities already is working with the Ukrainian Catholic Church diocese in Parma, Program Director Health Rosenberger told the committee. His agency is equipped to provide help with immigration and legal services, he said. Estimates vary, but the number of Ukrainian-Americans in Ohio is believed to be between 40,000 and 50,000, including 4,000 in Parma, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. There are believed to be more than 1 million people of Ukrainian descent in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau. Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy, who moderated Friday's meeting, said LC4Ukraine will meet again by virtual conference at 10 a.m. April 1. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @daveobrienCT.