I Hosted Ukrainian Refugees

I have just finished hosting a young Ukrainian couple and wish to chronicle what it involved.

My experience may be of value to those of you who may be similarly inclined.

I moved to my present location about an hour from LAX in 2012.

The reasons for my move were two-fold:

My only grandson, who will likely be my only grandchild, wasn’t yet two.

Photo: author

I wanted an opportunity to bond with him, and I had never lived near the coast, and wanted to experience proximity to the sea.

Both reasons were logical and my move, despite some things I would do differently could I do them over again, was reasonably uneventful.

Not knowing the lay of the land, I elected to rent.

On February 22, 2022, Russian invaded Ukraine.

I was sympathetic to Ukraine and had supported their efforts to remain a free and sovereign country.

But I read how millions of Ukrainians (of a nation of over 40 million) had fled, many to Germany and Poland.

Surely, I thought, if Europeans could open their homes and hearts to refugees, I could do the same.

So I found a website icanhelp.host, and, after obtaining the permission of my landlord, offered a room.