Happiness is having a safe place to call home. Many Ukrainians have lost everything, forced to start a new life from scratch, including finding a place to live. Many of us have found safety in Parry Sound, but many still remain in search of a home.

Thanks to caring Canadians, Ukrainians fleeing the war can once again feel safe in Parry Sound.

The house that once stood empty at 11 Church St. is now home for a Ukrainian family and four young children. This became possible thanks to the company ECO House Production, and its director Andrey Vovchenko, who generously offered an empty home for renovation.

This once-empty house is now a home again, where children’s laughter is heard. There is light in the windows again.

The Sviridov family lives on the ground floor with two small children. Four people live on the second floor: Andrey is a former programmer, Dmitry is a former employee of a large manufacturer of lithium batteries for cars, Vladimir is a former logistician and manager, and Andrey is a musician. They are starting over from zero.

There is a future plan to develop a condo at this site.

Thanks to the generous donations to the donation centre, many Ukrainians have managed to equip their homes with needed furniture for their new homes.

Newcomers help to develop the region’s local economy. Ukrainians are reputed to be one of the hardest working nations in Europe. All newcomers arriving in Parry Sound have quickly sought and gained employment, to the benefit of local employers.

Connor Industries’ Regan Barker, who has hired four Ukrainians, speaks of his experience with Ukrainians as employees:

“Ukrainians work well in groups, are conflict-free, punctual, and have an excellent work ethic. If there were more jobs, I would gladly hire even more Ukrainians. Despite the fact that Ukrainians do not speak English perfectly, there are no language barriers.”