At the end of November, there were just over 120 Ukrainians fleeing the war living in Prince George.
In mid-December, that number has grown to nearly 150, and is still on the rise.
“It is a dynamic number,” said Dick Mynen, a volunteer with Prince George for Ukraine and Share Hope.
Including the 25 or more that have already arrived in December, he said they are “expecting 38 by the end of this month, and we have another 19 already on deck for January.”
Mynen said the biggest need that Share Hope has right now is housing.
“We have found a place for everyone who has come or is on deck to come, but we do get thrown some curveballs.”
Earlier this week, they were “scrambling” to find a place for a family of five to stay who were set to arrive two days later.
“It is those kinds of things, that the more options you have available the better… there is a constant need for people to be able to draw from to help.”
Many of the families arriving this month have been set up in apartments right away, fully furnished thanks to donations from the community that Share Hope has been receiving for over half a year.
While spaces like that have been made available, host family numbers have been dipping in the Christmas season as families anticipate their own guests.
Mynen made sure to mention that, thanks to hard work from volunteers and people opening their homes, nobody will be spending Christmas in a hotel – “they will all have their own place or are living with a host family.”
Another big need that Ukrainians, as well as everyone else across the province, have been facing is childcare.
Share Hope is in the early stages of transforming the basement of St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic church.
Men in Ukraine are being told to stay and fight, so many of the families are arriving in town now are single mothers with children.
“We haven’t made the application to that for Northern Health yet… but we are still very much moving forward on that.”
Mynen said, once again, volunteers are stepping up in a big way, and are fully prepared to do the necessary wiring and transformation of the basement.
“We don’t have a set date, ASAP is the mantra.”
Anybody who would like to donate, volunteer, or offer services is being asked to reach out to [email protected].