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“When the Odemchuk family of five first arrived on August 23, 2022, followed by the Strezhyboroda family of four on September 13, 2022, just three weeks later, the amount of work to do seemed never ending: enroll children in schools, find employment and housing, set up wellness checks, arrange for English language tutoring, apply for social services benefits, employment authorizations, social security, health insurance – the list goes on and on. And then, with the arrival of the Tysiachna family of five on December 4, 2022, we did it all again,” Kristina Lozinskaya wrote in her “farewell” letter to members of Hosting Ukrainian Families earlier this month.
She continued, “Yet with your help – with the help of your time, effort, and re- sources – we are now proud to say that we did it. A year in, we have helped our families settle down and can retire our organization with a calm understanding that we have accomplished our mission.”
Lozinskaya acted as HUF’s executive assistant and chief interpreter. In her letter, she reflects on her time with the organization and its success in creating a stable environment for three families seeking safety from a war ravaging their home country.
Within the year, Hosting Ukrainian Families – directed by Jerry Nay – has set the Odemchuks, Strezhyborodas and the Tysiachnas on their way to self-sufficiency. Now, the three families have settled into their new lives in the United States.
Rymma and Volodymr Odemchuk and their three children were the first family to arrive in August 2022. In May 2023, the family departed Lexington to rejoin relatives in Ephrata, Pa. Both parents quickly found jobs to provide for their family.
Rymma secured a job in home health care, caring for an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s. “That [job] is something we had mentioned to her, and she followed up on the idea because she is so compassionate and if I would say, strong enough to handle something like that both psychologically and physically. She is just a wonderful person,” Nay told The News-Gazette.
Leaving his job at North Fork Lumber in Rockbridge County, Volodymr found another job in construction where he is quickly climbing the ranks, Nay said.
The Odemchuks contact members of the HUF community regularly, sending pictures of their smiling, happy children. “Every picture I see they have smiles on their faces,” Nay said.
Rymma’s sister, Olha Strezhyboroda, along with her husband, Andrii, and their two children came to Lexington in September 2022. Not long after the Odemchuks bid farewell, the Strezhyborodas moved to Harrisonburg with the hopes of immersing themselves into the Slavic-Christian church and the Ukrainian diaspora there.
Nay said, “They live their life around the church, similarly the children do the same and the children are friends with they gained over the last year, so it’s not a new experience to them. They are both registered for school.”
While at first there were some concerns about finding a new home in Harrisonburg, the Strezhyboroda couple found an apartment, making for a successful move to the area. Olha remains home with their young children, but Andrii has committed to working towards his Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), Nay explained.
Lozinskaya enlisted the help of Alex Radesky to enroll Strezhyboroda into the Total Action for Progress program, which will finance 100 percent of Andrii’s CDL tuition. Nay noted that Strezhyboroda was accepted into the CDL program at Mountain Gateway Community College. It’s already been arranged that Andrii will carpool with other members of the Harrisonburg community to classes in Rockbridge County.
Mykola Tysiachna – the father of HUF’s third family – is also working for his CDL and has similar circumstances to Strezhyboroda. Both men have obtained their CDL learner’s permit online, which required a lot of studying, Nay said. While they’ve been able to study and continue the course in their native language thus far, Strezhyboroda and Tysiachna will be required to take the “behind-the-wheel” portion of their CDL training in English without a translator.
“But they are both studying [their] English very hard,” Nay said. Nay explained that acquiring their CDL is the next step towards selfsufficiency for both families. However, while they are studying, neither will be making a steady income.
“That’s why we need that extra push of immediate donations that we can distribute to them to help them get through their 40-hour course. When you’re living hand-tomouth, every day is important,” Naysaid.
As Mykola Tysiachna has been studying towards his CDL, he’s also been settling into his new Lexington apartment on White Street with his family. The family of five moved there from their house on Main Street in May.
The Tysiachnas journeyed to Lexington in December 2022. Mykola, his wife Svitlana, and their three children were embraced by HUF. Throughout their time in Lexington, Svitlana Tysiachna has maintained her occupation remotely, working in human resources for a Ukrainain-based company. Recently, Tysiachna was promoted to the position of operations director, Lozinskaya commented.
The couple’s oldest son missed their life across seas, and left America to reunite with relatives in Warsaw. “He is happy and doing well and living with relatives,” Nay told The News-Gazette, but Lozinskaya included in her letter that most of Svitlana’s earnings are going towards supporting their son in Warsaw.
-As all three families continue their fight for self-sufficiency, HUF is hosting one final fundraising “blitz” to ensure the families are well supported, Nay said.
“None of the families’ successes would have been possible without YOU, and especially your material help,” Lozinskaya said in her farewell’ letter. “As we are closing our doors, we make a final appeal for donations. As you can see, the families’ jobs are laborious and minimum wage. In case of an emergency, HUF ceases to be an immediate fallback for them, which could bring a lot of stress to the people who can’t escape thinking about the War daily.”
A final “donation blitz” will conclude Aug. 18, which will also be Hosting Ukrainian Families final day as an organization. All checks are payable to Grace Episcopal Church, 123 W Washington St, Lexington, VA 24450 with the memo of Ukrainian Relief Fund.
Anyone interested in HUF’s efforts can find more information at its website, hostingukrainianfamilies. org. For any additional questions, call HUF during its final office hours this week from 2 to 6 p.m. at (540) 463-4981, ext. 2107.
Nay reflected on HUF’s journey and the bittersweet reality that the organization’s time has come to a closing.
“We prepared ourselves for this at the very beginning,” he said. “I had said this was going to be an effort getting people ready to leave. Receiving people in America - safe haven - but to place them in American society as being self-sufficient. So, I am prepared for this and it’s really a joyous occasion. It’ll be sad from the standpoint of not seeing these people that I’ve really come to love, but it was to happen, and we’ve totally, totally achieved our goals.”
Nay continued, “Someone said hat this whole effort took a village to do and it showed up to the tune of 100 people … It’s not one of those bittersweet things, but it’s a celebration of achievement … [HUF] exceeded our best expectations for miles and miles … which shows me that the world is bigger than the smallest of wars.”
