Halifax doesn’t have enough hosts to support Ukrainians who want to live here.
That’s according to Carol Ailles, who manages the Facebook group Atlantic Canada hosts for Ukrainians.
“We do have some hosts that are available [in Nova Scotia] and they are outside of the [Halifax] Transit area.”
Summer vacations are one of the reasons Ailles thinks there’s a shortage of hosts available, as some people who signed up to host in March aren’t available now.
“Maybe they didn’t get a [Ukrainian] family [in March] and then they’ve made a plan to go away in July or June,” Ailles said. “We’ve been asking and [people] are away or they’ll say ‘we can’t do it until September now, we’ve got family coming.’”
The group has been trying to communicate to Ukrainians that it isn’t necessary to stay in Halifax after you land, but Ailles acknowledged that some people coming from cities in Ukraine will feel more comfortable in an urban area.
Others are tied to Halifax because of career-aspirations that require them to be in a city center.
“We do have some professionals that would have an advantage in their job search by being in the city… but not everybody.”
One of the biggest challenges with encouraging people to go to smaller towns is the lack of public transportation, Ailles said. While some people are able to find jobs within walking distances of their small-town accommodations, many will need to find rides to work, either through carpooling or drop-offs.
Misconceptions of small-town NS
It’s common that Ukrainians landing are unaware there are even services available to complete necessary paperwork and documents in smaller towns, Ailles said. She’s been letting Ukrainians know that despite what they may think, smaller towns in Nova Scotia will meet their needs.
“They come from an area where they don’t really have small towns. They have suburbs and they would all go into Kiev to get something done. But in our case, you can do anything in Truro, you can go to Sydney and do anything. You don’t have to be going back and forth to Halifax all the time to find a document.”
Community is another aspect that may be keeping people near the city, she noted. In Truro, there’s a small Ukrainian population, making the area culturally appealing. Ailles hopes that with time, other smaller towns in the province will be viewed the same way.
“As we get more people in different areas, there will be more interest generated in those places.”
Currently, there are between 600-800 Ukrainians registered on lists looking for Atlantic hosts – with between 10-50 people adding their names daily, Ailles said.
Anyone interested in hosting can fill out the online form to get started.
