'Idaho Reminds Them of Home': Ukrainian Welcome Center Marks First Anniversary

This week Mosaics talks with Tina Polishchuk, executive director of the Ukrainian Welcome Center.  

Tina, whose own family fled religious persecution in Ukraine more than 30 years ago, was building her career and raising a young family in Idaho when Russia invaded Ukraine last year. What started out as a clothing drive became a twist in her own life that she never saw coming. 

The Ukrainian Welcome Center in the past year has welcomed and assisted more than 500 people fleeing the war. Learn more about why they chose to seek safety in Idaho, and how people came together to help them feel at home. 

The community is invited to mark the one-year anniversary of the Ukrainian Welcome Center on Saturday, May 27, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Welcome Center, 304 16th Avenue North in Nampa. The building is the former Boise Rescue Mission’s Lighthouse shelter, which coincidentally closed as the conflict in Ukraine was starting up. The Rescue Mission’s CEO quickly jumped on board with using the space for assisting Ukrainian refugees instead.  

“Despite the fact that there’s a lot of evil in the world, there’s always a place for good,” Tina said. “And I think we’re seeing that realize itself in the Ukrainian Welcome Center.” 

Learn more at www.ukrainianwelcomecenter.org.