Ukrainian refugees find new home with support from Kirkland parish
Sep 29, 2022
Local
KIRKLAND — After warfare destroyed their home in Mariupol, Ukraine, a family of four is settling into their new home in the U.S. through the efforts of parishioners at Holy Family Parish in Kirkland.
“They are very proud people. We’re not adopting them. We’re guiding them to get on their feet on their own and be independent,” said Carmen Zullo, one of the Holy Family parishioners participating in the Ukrainian “Welcome Circle” program of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services.
When the family — father, mother, 9-year-old daughter and grandmother — arrived Sept. 8 at the condo that had been secured for them, they thought they would be sharing the space with others, Zullo said.
“They cannot get over the amount of generosity they are receiving,” he told Northwest Catholic.
“It was too much for them to absorb,” Zullo said in an email to the sponsor team and supporters, noting that the condo was “staged beautifully and well stocked with gifts, flowers and food.”
The family “couldn’t understand that all of us would do this for complete strangers,” Zullo wrote. “They must have thanked us a hundred times.”
Zullo and his wife Annmarie are the official sponsors on the federal paperwork. But they are part of a sponsor team of some 30 Holy Family parishioners who have worked over several months to find housing, gather essentials, raise money and navigate the requirements that allow the refugee family to live in the U.S. for up to two years.
The Archdiocese of Seattle is one of a handful of pilot sites chosen by the USCCB for the Welcome Circle Program because “they are in areas already seeing a large number of Ukrainian newcomers and they have the capacity to support the program,” said Michele Bulatovic, manager of the USCCB program.
Through its program, the USCCB is providing funding to the archdiocese for additional staff to help guide parishes through the process of welcoming Ukrainian families, according to Chris Koehler, director of Immigrant and Refugee Ministry for the archdiocese.
“In response to the war, the church is looking for ways to help Ukrainians,” Koehler said.
The goal, Bulatovic said, is creating 100 Welcome Circles across the U.S.
“That would mean 100 Ukrainian families who have lost their homes, who have been displaced and, in many cases, lost loved ones, would be able to seek a new beginning,” she said.
Many of the Ukrainians seeking to come to the U.S. are women and children with no family connections here, Bulatovic said.
“When you take the step to form a Welcome Circle, you are creating a new pathway for one of these families,” she added.
Helping a family build a new life
At Holy Family, that step to form a Welcome Circle started with a virtual meeting about the program that Koehler hosted in April. Three of the meeting participants were Holy Family parishioners who didn’t know each other, but it wasn’t long before the group of 30 parishioners formed. Zullo said the members divided up tasks in the areas of housing, furnishings, health care, education, transportation, work authorization and benefits.
“It’s too much for one person to take on,” Koehler said.
In conjunction with the federal government’s Sponsor Circle Program, the USCCB Welcome Circle Program requires at least five adults to form a circle. Members of the circle must undergo background checks, help with fundraising and prepare a group application, including a welcome plan, to submit via the Sponsor Circle website, Bulatovic explained.
“The amount of responsibility this entails is intense,” Zullo said.
But there is also a lot of helpful information available to guide a Welcome Circle group, according to Mark Smith, a Holy Family parishioner and member of the parish’s group. The USCCB encourages volunteers to complete training offered on the Sponsor Circle website and the archdiocese is available for guidance and to answer questions, Bulatovic said.
Zullo and Smith both said they appreciated having a real estate agent in their group to help find a place for the Ukrainian family to live.
“Housing is the most expensive and difficult thing you can find,” Smith said, noting that Holy Family Parish co-signed the condo lease.
‘Our faith in action’
After fleeing their war-torn country, the Ukrainian family traveled to Germany and then England before arriving in Seattle Sept. 8, Zullo said. During the first week, the Holy Family group made the family feel welcome, helped the daughter get her vaccinations and enrolled in school, assisted them in opening a checking account, got them signed up for state aid programs and made sure they understand how the bus system works.
On Sept. 14, the parish held a blessing for the family during the evening Mass, followed by a potluck. The event wasn’t advertised to parishioners, but about 100 people attending the regular Mass witnessed the blessing.
“We wanted to give (the family) a proper welcome, but we didn’t want to make it overwhelming,” explained Father Bryan Dolejsi, Holy Family’s pastor. “It was a nice witness to our faith in action.”
Koehler said 15-20 other parishes or Catholic groups have expressed interest helping Ukrainian refugees. St. Joseph Parish in Issaquah is gathering volunteers and St. James Cathedral will soon welcome a sponsored family that is awaiting travel authorization, he said.
Bulatovic said parishes thinking about participating in a Welcome Circle “should keep in mind that circles are responsible for providing resettlement services, such as housing, basic necessities, assistance with completing documents, enrolling children in school, etc.” The first three to six months of the process will be the most intense, she added.
Koehler said parishes should talk about whether a project like sponsoring a family from Ukraine is the best way to engage on immigration issues.
For parishes deciding to join the Welcome Circle program, it will take time to organize a group, he said, but “there’s an incredible abundance of joy and resources when you get a group together.”
How to sponsor Ukrainian refugees
Parishes and individuals interested in learning how to sponsor a Ukrainian refugee family should email Chris Koehler, director of Immigrant and Refugee Ministry for the Archdiocese of Seattle, at: [email protected]
Explore these resources to learn more:
Archdiocese of Seattle Ukraine Welcome Circles