A self-proclaimed humanitarian, Landreville wanted to host a Syrian family during the height of the civil war in that country, but paperwork and red tape made it unfeasible. When the opportunity came up to take in displaced individuals from Ukraine, she jumped on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just couldn\u2019t say no given the urgency and seriousness of the situation of what\u2019s happening with the war,\u201d said Landreville. \u201cImagine if we had neighbours that decided to bomb us and we had nowhere to go?\u201d<\/p>\n
The family is currently in Cyprus after fleeing the north-eastern city of Sumy, part of a region which saw heavy fighting during the initial days of the Russian invasion starting in February.<\/p>\n
Come August 14, Landreville is giving up her two-bedroom condo to a mother, her two young daughters, and her younger brother. The husband and father of the two girls asked his brother-in-law to look after his family while he stayed behind to fight the Russian invasion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t live in a big place, but it’s doable,\u201d said Landreville.<\/p>\n
The queen-size bed in the guestroom will be taken up by the two girls. There is a pull-out coach for the brother, and the mother is being offered Landreville\u2019s own bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s been under so much stress that I just want to offer her a comfortable place to stay,\u201d said Landreville. \u201cI\u2019m sure she needs a good sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
With every room in her house spoken for, Landreville will be staying with friends until her Ukrainian guests get back on their feet, popping in to answer any questions they might have, offering support, and also feeding her cats.<\/p>\n
The response and support from the community is astounding, according to Landreville. For the past several weeks, she has been soliciting donations of clothing, food and other necessities for the family\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should have everything they need. I think they have enough toothpaste for the next 10 years,\u201d said Landreville. \u201cNow I am concentrating on financial donations. Eventually they will need to rent their own place. They don\u2019t have any furniture. They don\u2019t have anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
A crowdfunding page is set up to ensure the new arrivals are able to rent a car, afford food and eventually pay first and last month\u2019s rent for a place to live on their own.<\/p>\n
Though the family\u2019s plans for settling are yet unknown, Landreville hopes they decide to make Rockland their new home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve encouraged them stay,\u201d said Landreville. \u201cI\u2019ve been in this community for over 40 years and I know how warm the people can be. I would love them to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Landreville is not the only friendly face from the area welcoming Ukrainian families. Landreville heard of the family looking to settle in the Ottawa area from a Facebook post by Tom Smith who is already hosting a couple in Rockland and did not have the space to take on another.<\/p>\n
Between January and July of 2022, special programs implemented by the Canadian government have provided temporary resident visas to more than 275,000 Ukrainian nationals and their family members according to statistics on the federal government website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to rage, displaced Ukrainians are seeking safe harbour around the world. Tammy Landreville is offering up her Rockland home to one family of refugees. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":24385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-societe"],"acf":[],"featured_media_global":[],"yoast_head":"\n