New Ukrainian Welcome Center to offer community support to refugees fleeing to Idaho

The Idaho Alliance for Ukrainian Refugees and Immigrants says it will open its new Ukrainian Welcome Center in Nampa on Saturday in a former homeless shelter.

With an estimated 200 Ukrainians already in the state, the alliance decided the best use for its resources would be to provide support for refugee families in need.

“Our goal here with our alliance is to make sure that our local resources are prepared to receive the Ukrainian people that are going to end up at our doorstep,” Tina Polishchuk, director of outreach for the alliance, said at a news conference. “When the war started and we saw how many refugees were fleeing Ukraine or were displaced within their own country, we realized that it would be only a matter of time before they landed here in Idaho.”

The center began its effort six weeks ago with the goal of providing support to refugees in five areas: documentation, housing, transportation and education, with the fifth being donations and volunteers.

Some of the educational resources provided to refugees include English as a second language classes for adults, driver’s education classes, and summer children’s programs.

The housing and documentation areas exist to provide temporary shelter to the refugees in the Nampa center itself or elsewhere while they go through the documentation process, where the goal is to help them find jobs and move into permanent housing.

The center is located in the Lighthouse Rescue Mission building in Nampa, which had previously operated as a men’s shelter.

“This whole process began at the end of last year, when we at the rescue mission realized that this building was truly underutilized,” the Rev. Bill Roscoe, President and CEO of the Boise Rescue Mission, said at the news conference.

“We realized that this building was empty, so that we could easily turn it over to the alliance and provide a place for the Ukrainian refugees coming to Idaho to stay,” Roscoe said.

Volunteers are needed for four key services: food box packaging, transportation, clothing and household goods, and on-site support at the welcome center.

More than 100 people are signed up to receive emails with volunteer information, and the center has received 250 hours weekly of volunteer service, according to pastor Nate Roskam of the Lakeview Church of the Nazarene in North Nampa.

“And ultimately it just leads to a huge thank you to the community and the people who have responded and continue to respond,” Roskam said.

The Idaho Alliance for Ukrainian Refugees and Immigrants is working with local organizations including the Idaho Office for Refugees, the International Rescue Committee, Nazarene churches and various Slavic churches.

The center will have its grand opening from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We’re in it for the long haul,” Roscoe said. “We don’t know how long this is going to be, we don’t know how long the war’s going to go on or how long people will be staying in the States. But as long as the need is there, the need is present, the rescue mission will be alongside the Alliance in service to the Ukrainian people and ultimately in service to God.”

Those interested in volunteering or offering donations can visit www.IdahoForUkraine.org.