LCSNW brightens Ukrainian family’s construction work prospects

Sitting at their kitchen table on a recent sunshiny Saturday morning in Vancouver, Washington, Serhii and Tamara beamed with happiness. The couple, through an interpreter, said they had exciting news to share. The day before, they’d received a state license that will enable them to do general contracting in residential construction.

 

 

“Having this license and the ability to work in my profession means we can really begin to rebuild our lives,” Serhii said. He specializes in carpentry and spent years working on large projects in Ukraine, even traveling to nearby countries for work.

 

 

Before receiving the license, however, the outlook felt bleak, they said. “We had been working just to survive,” Serhii said.

 

 

Receiving the license, the couple relayed to the interpreter, is one of the best things that’s happened to them and their three sons since they all arrived in the United States last September. The family came here seeking safety from violent conflict in their home country of Ukraine.

 

 

Although the couple applied for the license on their own, they credited support from our team in Vancouver as critical in the effort to obtain it. Serhii and Tamara have taken part in many offerings from LCSNW, including English classes and employment workshops. They also worked with a case manager to navigate systems.

 

 

“LCSNW gave us the motivation to move forward. Without your help we wouldn’t really have known where to start,” Tamara said.

 

The family’s status as humanitarian parolees, provided by the U.S. government for people fleeing Ukraine due to the conflict there, makes them eligible for financial aid.

 

 

Thanks to a grant from Clark County and Washington State Department of Commerce, our agency was able to provide financial support that covered their housing costs for two months. They also qualified for assistance in removing barriers to becoming financially self-sustaining. Serhii shared with us that having his own power tools, such as a circular saw and a table saw, would be foundational for getting started as a general contractor.

 

 

Serhii said he has reason to regain hope now that he has a set of power tools, a general contractor’s license, and a small work van that he and Tamara purchased thanks to friends who loaned them money.

 

 

“LCSNW helped us to lift our chins,” Serhii said. “Now we can see the horizon.”