NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Just over a year ago, the world watched in shock as Russia invaded Ukraine.
"There was a lot of interest at the beginning when the war first broke out and how to support Ukrainians, but people forget that when it's not on the news it's still happening," said Max Rykov, director of development and communications at the Nashville International Center for Empowerment.
Since then, the Nashville International Center for Empowerment, or NICE, has helped nearly 200 Ukrainians find new homes in Tennessee.
"I believe the assumption was people would want to go back home to Ukraine, and that the war would resolve," Rykov said.
But it seems resolve is nowhere in sight.
On Feb. 24, 2022, Liudmyla Seliutina was working as a flight attendant on a trip to Mexico. Russia had invaded Ukraine.
"After that, my mom said 'it's very dangerous please don't come back home, it's very dangerous'," said Seliutina.
Rather than return home to Kyiv, she stayed in Poland alone, before moving to Germany.
"The hardest part is to be separate from my family, of course," said Seliutina. "I'm not alone, but I feel like sometimes I'm alone because all of my family is still in Ukraine."
After spending time in Germany, the 29-year-old fled Ukraine leaving behind her parents and an older brother, who is fighting on the front lines.
"It was just hard in the beginning," said Seliutina. "Like, you don't know local rules, you don't know local laws, you don't know to act to be a refugee here."
Now through a new monitorship program, NICE is inviting volunteers to donate their time to helping refugees find housing, transportation and integrate into their new homes in Nashville.
"It's a really transformative service opportunity that's available to ordinary people to help in a really, really significant," said Rykov.
As more refugees are expected to arrive in Nashville, it's help that is just as needed today as it was a year ago.
For more information on how you can help, click here.
