When four residents from Tapestry at Victoria Harbour set out to make a quilt and sell raffle tickets to support incoming Ukrainian refugees, many were skeptical they would reach their $10,000 goal.
But the Patchwork for Heart initiative ended up doubling its goal, raising more than $20,000 for the Victoria Inter-Cultural Association. At a celebratory event Tuesday (July 25), Shelley D’Mello, CEO of the Inter-Cultural Association, announced the funds will provide support to more than 20 Ukrainian families navigating Victoria’s housing market.
While incoming Ukrainian refugees often require support in many areas, including language training and employment, D’Mello said housing “topped the list of priorities” due to the city-wide affordable housing shortage.
The association will use some of the funds to provide immediate support through intake processes and will help clients with the greatest financial needs secure government subsidies to help with housing costs.
But D’Mello said a lot of the efforts will go toward building long-term strategies to set individuals up with the necessary tools to establish themselves and gain independence in their new environment.
The association will be working with clients to help them develop the necessary skills to independently navigate the housing market, teaching them how to search and apply for housing and how to negotiate with landlords.
“While subsidy meets the immediate need of how to pay for housing, the other side of the continuum explores how we empower others to navigate those systems themselves,” D’Mello said. “This lasting impact results in creating independence and the confidence to build a meaningful life in Canada.”
Present at the event was Ukrainian immigrant Hanna Kontomyrova, who fled Kharkiv — a Ukrainian city only 30 kilometres away from the Russian border which endured months of bombing — in July 2022.
After moving from city to city seeking refuge and then spending six months in Poland on a fruitless search for housing and employment, Kontomyrova and her family landed in Canada in February.
She said housing was one of the main barriers she faced when arriving in the country.
“We couldn’t get rent because we weren’t employed, and we couldn’t get employed because we didn’t have a place,” she said. “It’s a vicious circle.”
But she said the generosity and support her family received from the community inspired her to give back. Kontomyrova started a new position at the Inter-Cultural Association a week ago.
Kontomyrova spoke to the room of supporters and donors and told them their efforts “didn’t just provide housing.”
“You initiated a chain of good deeds,” she said. “Now Ukrainians can join you and learn from you how to become a generous person, how to volunteer and how to support others when we get stable. We thank you for the support in all that you’re doing, and we promise to do the same for Canada.”
The quilt is a labour of love created by Tapestry residents Angie Chan, Don Ross, Pat Montgomery and Helen Van Alstine. It features yellow and blue, the colours of the Ukrainian flag, and an embroidered sunflower in the top right corner as a symbol of optimism and peace.
D’Mello said the four residents “breathed life and purpose” into the quilt and demonstrated the power of community initiatives.
“The catalyst of this project represents what can be accomplished when people are galvanized around creating a society where care, passion and giving are keystones are creating a soft place to land for those who seek refuge in this city,” she said.
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