Hanna Anikeychyk is packing up her meagre belongings as she prepares to move out of the Ukrainian Village on Cook Street, her first home in Canada.
Known officially as the Kiwanis Village Society’s Heatherington House, the two-storey facility has been the temporary first residence for 131 families as they start a new life after escaping the strife in Ukraine.
Opened in August 2022 to accommodate a wave of Ukrainians fleeing the country and arriving in Canada with few resources and options, the facility provided three months of free accommodation, time to get paperwork done, find a job and secure a more permanent home.
But it’s closing at the end of the month, a year after the Ukrainian-Canadian Cultural Society of Vancouver Island’s one-year lease was extended by another year, as Canada winds down its emergency benefits for Ukrainians fleeing the war.
Anikeychyk, 40, moved into one of the building’s 15 units, the majority bachelor suites with mini-kitchenettes and bathrooms, after arriving from war-torn Kherson with her two-year-old son and her mother, Tetania, about three months ago.
“I was so surprised, as my expectations were low to begin with,” said Anikeychyk. “But I met some kind, wonderful people who became my second family.”
Janna Fabrikova, director at large for the Ukrainian-Canadian Cultural Society of Vancouver Island, said the facility was almost always full during its two years of operation.
Canada was a popular destination because the government allowed the newcomers an open work permit for three years, said Fabrikova, who arrived in Canada in 2016 with her husband and two infants after Russia invaded the Crimea.
Familiarity with the language was the other major factor — for most Ukrainians, English is their second language.
The Ukrainian Village came together as a partnership between the society, the Kiwanis Club of Victoria, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Ukrainian Catholic Church and Help Ukraine Vancouver Island Society. Funding came from the Times Colonist Christmas Fund, Capital Regional District and Victoria Foundation.
At the time — early 2022 — Heatherington House had only two residents due to vacancies created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The timing was fortuitous, as the building was nearly empty when the [Ukrainian] crisis emerged,” said David McLean, who served as the liaison between the Kiwanis Village Society and the other partners. “It was a short-term solution for both parties.”
Now, with the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) ended, most of the residents have left. Many moved on to other accommodation, but about 10 per cent returned to Ukraine, the society said.
Anikeychyk, one of the last residents, is preparing to move to a two-bedroom basement suite in View Royal.
She said it was not easy to find rental accommodation with no income, references or credit cards. “I must have sent out 70 [rental] applications — and nothing,” said Anikeychyk, who worked more than 10 years as a financial analyst, with experience in accounting, business and office administration.
So she got creative. After she found a daycare for her son, she printed out posters explaining her situation and put them in the mailboxes of the houses surrounding the daycare.
She got lucky — one of those residents called her back.
Although she’s happy with the outcome, she said her mother is already missing the camaraderie of the Ukrainian Village, where there was a communal kitchen for residents to prepare their meals, a central meeting area and a sunroom.
“We were made very comfortable,” said Diana Budiachenko, 34, who lived in the village for four months before moving out just after Christmas.
“There was always something to eat and always someone to talk to. There were English classes and occasionally we would get free tickets to events. We celebrated together, with Thanksgiving a combination of Canadian and Ukrainian dishes. I didn’t want to leave.”
After Budiachenko got a job at the deli department at Fairway Market, she found a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Victoria that she shares with her mother, Natalia.
She said their stay at the Ukrainian Village provided enough time for them to get their paperwork sorted out.
While finding a job wasn’t difficult, Budiachenko would like to eventually find work in line with her education — a master’s degree in performing arts — and experience in Odessa, her hometown, where she worked in a drama studio.
In the meantime, she designed and directed a play, A Dictionary of Emotions in War Time, that ran in January at Langham Court Theatre, and has another production that she’s directing, Ravenscroft, opening in late September.
She pays $1,400 a month for her one-bedroom apartment and says she and her mother, who also works at Fairway, are able to make ends meet by pooling their income.
In the long term, she hopes to stay in the country and, when the time is right, apply for her father to join them in Canada.
As for Anikeychyk, she doesn’t hesitate when asked about next steps.
“I am staying. I am so impressed, so surprised at all the kind, wonderful people I have met. Here I can see a good future for my son,” she said.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
