By Allie Clerget
When you picture your life, you never imagine that one day you will be rummaging through the rubble that was your apartment building, holding your two-year-old and what belongings you manage to salvage in your arms. And yet that was reality for the Zablotska family* after Russia bombed their home. With such a young child and an uncertain future ahead, the Zablotskas knew they could not remain in Ukraine during wartime. So in May of 2022, they decided to gather all the belongings they had left, pack the family into their car, and flee Ukraine. They spent the next five weeks driving from city to city, country to country in Europe, sometimes finding people they could stay with temporarily, sometimes sleeping in their car. And all the while, they were looking for a safe way to get to the United States.
The Zablotskas did not have any family in the U.S. who could receive and support them. As they moved from place to place, the hope of finding stability in the near future kept them going while they waited to connect with a U.S. sponsor. Finally, after months of living out of their car, they were matched with a team of sponsors in Whitefish, Montana.
What a relief to find a place to settle down and call home. Little did the Zablotskas realize just how much support they would find in their new community. The team welcomed the family at the airport and brought them to the guest housing they had prepared for them in Whitefish. Right away the team connected the family to multiple community resources and social services, and after just a couple of weeks the family was able to move into long-term housing.
And the story gets better. When the Zablotskas met with their new landlord to sign their contract, they had a chance to share their story with them. Their landlord was so moved and grateful to be a part of their journey that they created an Amazon wish list to help furnish the apartment. And after sharing the wish list with other members in the community, a mere 48 hours later the entire wish list was fulfilled and the Zablotskas had a fully furnished home thanks to the generosity of their new community.
This is just one beautiful example of how a community can come together and support a refugee family that is being resettled. Every community has exactly what each refugee family needs, and sometimes all it takes is sharing their story to inspire the rest of the community to come fill in the gaps and help the family build a new future and a new home.
*Family name changed for security reasons.