Help a Ukrainian LGBT Family Start a New Life

Dear friends,

When the war broke out in Ukraine, my wife Sarah and I could not stand by without helping, so we decided to take a Ukrainian LGBT family under our wing: Denys and Valerii, a married gay couple, their 14-year-old son, and Denys’ cousin Natasha.

Their story is like any other you've read about Ukrainian refugees. Coming from Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia (the site of the infamous nuclear plant), they all ended up living in Kyiv, where you could work hard and lead a decent life. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Natasha was visiting her clients back in her hometown of Dnipro. Train tickets back to Kyiv were almost instantly gone, so Denys, Valerii, and their son jumped into a car and drove 10 hours to pick her up themselves. With one suitcase each, they made their way to the Polish border. The influx of refugees made it hard to process them timely through the customs, so all four ended up spending a sleepless night at the border in freezing temperatures without food and practically any water.

Once across the border, they spent the next six months nomadizing from one country to another, unable to settle anywhere fully.

When Joe Biden announced a Uniting For Ukraine (U4U) program, many religious people started sponsoring refugees from Ukraine and bringing them to the US. Being an LGBT family (their female cousin is also queer), their chances of securing a sponsor were not high. In fact, nobody besides us reached out to them in the Facebook U4U group where sponsors connect with refugees. Being a queer Russian immigrant, I had to get involved, and with Sarah's full support, we became their sponsors.

The family was finally able to arrive in Los Angeles on August 27th. We applied for their benefits, work permits, and SSNs right away. But it can take them anywhere from six to twelve weeks to get their work authorizations, if not longer.

So this fall, we humbly ask you to join us in helping this family start their new life. Together, we can provide the support and a small sense of normalcy they need - morally and monetarily. Any donation is valuable - no matter how small! Every little bit counts!

And please, if you can or can not donate, please share this fundraiser on your social media page!

Thank you so very much!

Milena and Sarah

+ Denys, Valerii, Natasha, and the boy