Temporary shelter in the USA: the story of Anastasia from Kyiv

Anastasia is originally from the Rivne region, from the town of Varash. She lived in Kyiv for the past nine years, where she studied at university and worked remotely in IT as a project manager. Her normal life was interrupted on February 24th. That day, her father called her, and later she traveled from the city to the Kyiv region.

From the region, she and her neighbor, as well as her family (father, mother, sister), traveled to western Ukraine in two cars. Her father stayed behind, and the four of them headed to Poland, where her other sister already lived. Crossing the border took three whole days.

Currently, Anastasia is in New York City, USA. Overall, she likes it there, but she says that expectations do not always align with reality, so one should be prepared for that. She gave us a detailed account of how to get help in the USA:

"States are different from most European countries because everything takes a very long time with paperwork, and in the first few months, you have to rely only on yourself. Charitable organizations operate in the USA. Now a local one has contacted me, and each state has its own. I applied to all the organizations, and only after a month received a response from one of them. From the government, you can receive such assistance as Food Stamps and Cash Assistance. From charitable organizations, you can receive Matching Grants. Here, medical insurance can be obtained for free and very easily, and language courses are also free. There are really many opportunities here. By the way, recently, a law was passed where you don't need to wait for a work permit. Everyone who arrived under the U4U program (United for Ukraine) has the right to work".

Since the first months in the USA are quite difficult, Anastasia turned to us for help with finding accommodation. Our volunteers found her temporary shelter in an American family. Here's what Anastasia said about living with them:

"I lived with the family for a month, and now I rent a place myself. The people themselves are very kind and friendly, they have three children. They welcomed me, gave me a separate room, and helped me with everything. I made friends with them and their children. We exchanged contacts. Maybe I'll come to visit them soon."

Anastasia, based on her experience, advises the following: first, develop a plan for what you will do when you arrive in the United States; second, find free housing for a few months to adapt. You can find a sponsor who will help with housing, food, and finances in the first few months. She has acquaintances who have lived in the United States in this way. Third, choose a big city with more opportunities and gather as much information about it as possible. For example, there are four organizations in New York that help refugees from Ukraine. Anastasia recommends emailing them before going to the USA because it typically takes about a month to receive a response. After arriving, you can come to their department, where they will provide you with all the necessary information and help with medical insurance and documents. Speaking of expenses, the minimum cost for housing and food per month is around $1500. Therefore, you need to plan your budget in advance.

At the end of the conversation, Anastasia gave feedback about our platform: "I am very grateful to the Ukraine Shelter organization for the help with housing because I had neither friends nor relatives to stay with. After filling out the questionnaire, Anastasia, the manager, contacted me very quickly and answered all my questions. Actually, I didn't expect volunteers to help so much. They contacted the owners themselves and only gave me the contacts. The platform helped me take the first step in a new country."