Manitobans can now sign up to house Ukrainian refugees

Refugees from Ukraine cross into Poland at the Medyka crossing, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine nears the two-week mark, Manitobans can now offer to help displaced families.

Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) Manitoba has started collecting the names of people willing to host displaced Ukrainians.

"The United Nations several days ago, it must be higher now, said there are 18 million affected people. Affected people means people who had to leave their homes under conditions of war, stress and that nature," said Ostap Skrypnyk, a volunteer with UCC Manitoba.

"A lot of people have crossed the border into Poland, Romania, Slovakia and are now living in some sort of holding centre or looking for accommodations west into Europe," added Skrypnyk.

Skrypnyk said the organization isn't sure how many people will need to be hosted.

UCC Manitoba is currently just collecting the info of people wanting to host displaced Ukrainians and isn't actively placing them into homes.

"We are encouraging people to register their intentions or desires and then we'll follow up," said Skrypnyk. "Everyone needs to be patient because this is going to be a long process before we can see people arriving."

Skrypnyk said there will be certain criteria and vetting before any placement happens.

Winnipegger Linda Neufeld is one of the dozens of people who have already signed up to potentially host displaced Ukrainians.

Neufeld's said she put her name on the list because her grandparents were Ukrainian and were refugees in WWII.

"They had to evacuate overnight. The whole family. It took them nine months to get from wherever they were at into Poland," she said. "It was nothing but hardship, and if I can avoid it for someone, I would love to have them."

According to Skrypnyk, around 70 people have signed up to help in Manitoba so far.

More information on how to potentially host displaced Ukrainians can be found here.