Canadian residents are ready to shelter immigrants from Ukraine

While the Canadian government is organizing new immigration programs for refugees from Ukraine, locals are trying to help in their own way. Lawyer Alexander Dufresne has created a Facebook group to find people in Canada willing to shelter refugees in their homes. Requests are managed by filling out a special online form. So far, 533 Canadians have already offered to shelter 2,045 Ukrainian refugees. According to Dufresne, most of the registered volunteers are from Quebec, but lately people from other provinces have increasingly joined the initiative. In addition to hosting, Alexander plans to organize sponsorships for refugees. He also noted that his house has several spare rooms and a renovated basement, so with a few air mattresses he can accommodate up to 16 people.

Local organizations, churches and municipal politicians are also preparing for the imminent arrival of refugees from Ukraine, where the humanitarian crisis seems to worsen by the hour. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees noted that more than 1 million people left the country in the first week of the conflict and warned that the number will only continue to grow if there is no change in relations between the countries.