A U4U information platform to connect Ukrainian refugees with US hosts

U4U

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https://www.u4u.com.ua/ is an open platform for Ukrainians and US citizens built by UkraineNow to provide profound information about the U4U program and connect refugees with hosts in the US.

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In the beginning of the war, millions of Ukrainian citizens fled the war. Thousands of them were stuck on the Mexico-US border, not having either the means to move anywhere or an ability to enter the US. The UkraineNow founder Artur Kiulian spent countless days there, helping Ukrainians get decent conditions at the border and options to resolve their situation.

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I just came back from Tijuana, Mexico…There are 300+ people in the refugee camp next to the border. It's just tents, canopies and camp chairs, lot of small kids running around. Surrounded by sketchy people trying to steal those kids, and I'm not making this up, it's a real thing and a matter of time. Human trafficking is real and evil things didn't disappear because everyone feels sorry for Ukrainians...

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https://youtu.be/DIy8m8bfzzk?feature=shared 

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Later, the United States announced it would welcome as many as 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing their homes from Russia’s bullets and bombs for up to two years. Any citizen or organization could sponsor a Ukrainian family which has applied to come to the U.S. in a new program called Ukraine. The program received the name "Uniting for Ukraine", being administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 

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As a result, the US citizens were legally allowed to provide asylum for Ukrainians after declaring their financial support and passing security background checks in order. That meant Ukrainian citizens had to find a reliable person in the US, for example, a relative, to gain the right to enter the country. 

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Yet, not every Ukrainian had a family in the US. At the same time, Americans willing to help were no aware of the conditions and steps required. 

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Having a strong presence in the US and awareness in Ukraine, UkraineNow created https://www.u4u.com.ua/, a website informing both parties about the program. It included guides and step by step instructions to become eligible for U4U. In addition, we invited potential hosts or anyone willing to help to voluntarily leave their details to match with refugees from Ukraine.

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Overall, the website became an independent knowledge hub for U4U. After a call among the network and coverage by media, we’ve collected a database of over 1,2K U4U sponsors and 17K applicants. Additionally, with the effort of our volunteer based case management team, at least 20 families were successfully assigned to sponsors and/or found housing.

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“Citizens of the US brought us food, clothes, helped with the arrangement of the house: a bed for our son, bed linen, and so on. UkraineNow provided us with an apartment for two months. They were also helping us with documents and coordination – we are very grateful for that”, says Maxym Blizniuk, whose family with a son with special needs were forced to flee Kharkiv. Their difficult story was covered by Washington Post, and we are proud to have alleviated some of those difficulties for them.

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Read more about the families we helped: 

https://www.ukrainenow.org/post/finding-refuge-to-save-a-son-story-of-the-blizniuk-family

https://www.ukrainenow.org/cases/uscala3