Even though the war in Ukraine seems very far away, there are ways this war is touching the heart of our city.
Syracuse has a long history of welcoming refugees. In the past decade, our area welcomed over 7,000 refugees. (CNY Vitals) Our community supports new arrivals and organizations like Interfaith Works guide refugees through the process of finding a place to live and work in Central New York.
If families leave Ukraine because of the war and decide to move to Central New York, they will be joining many friends and families that live here. The Central New York area has the largest percentage of Ukrainian people in medium-sized cities in the US. (syracuse.com) The people who have families still living and fighting in Ukraine are sending supplies and money to the people they left behind. Beth Broadway from Interfaith Works writes, “We have been settling refugees for over 40 years, and we are gearing up to assist here, too. We are grateful to our County Executive and Mayor who recently wrote to President Biden, offering our community’s resources to settle Ukrainian people here.”
We are hoping for peace. But if families decide to move to the US, the people at Interfaith Works are ready to help. In case you didn’t know about the work Interfaith Works does, this week we are sharing their newsletter. We hope you will join us in supporting their mission.
| INTERFAITH WORKS PREPARES TO WELCOME UKRAINIAN REFUGEES |
 |
 |
We watch the war on the Ukraine with the same disbelief and horror as you. The numbers of displaced people boggle our minds – how do we respond to this human crisis in any meaningful way? Your recent calls of support to our office, evidenced a few months ago for our Afghan brothers and sisters and again, now, as the Ukrainians flee, give us resilience. The compassion of our community here in Central New York is astounding!
We invite you to stop and pray for the children, the mothers, fathers, and young adults whose lives have been torn asunder. Allow your heart to reach across the world and say “welcome” or, in Ukrainian, “prosu” (with a roll of the “r” and a soft “shu” at the end) for those who will eventually come here to live among us. InterFaith Works has already settled many Ukrainian people over the years and we will continue to do so in this crisis when asked. According to the United Nations, more than 2 million people have fled into neighboring countries, and we must be ready to respond to this overwhelming humanitarian crisis. We have been settling refugees for over 40 years, and we are gearing up to assist here, too. We are grateful to our County Executive and Mayor who recently wrote to President Biden, offering our community’s resources to settle Ukrainian people here.
We invite you to stop and pray for the children, the mothers, fathers, and young adults whose lives have been torn asunder. Allow your heart to reach across the world and say “welcome” or, in Ukrainian, “prosu” (with a roll of the “r” and a soft “shu” at the end) for those who will eventually come here to live among us. InterFaith Works has already settled many Ukrainian people over the years and we will continue to do so in this crisis when asked. According to the United Nations, more than 2 million people have fled into neighboring countries, and we must be ready to respond to this overwhelming humanitarian crisis. We have been settling refugees for over 40 years, and we are gearing up to assist here, too. We are grateful to our County Executive and Mayor who recently wrote to President Biden, offering our community’s resources to settle Ukrainian people here.