In the first weeks of the war in Ukraine, Newmarket resident Liliya Khapko, and her parents and grandparents, spent many sleepless nights worrying for the safety of their family members there.
"It's been really tough on them, it's been really stressful. My mom cried a couple times," Khapko said, and her 75-year-old grandmother was ready to travel to cross into Ukraine from Poland to lend her support.
"She's a very emotional, caring person. It's been very tough."
Khapko said she was on her way to work the day Russia invaded Ukraine and was completely unaware of the news until a friend called to say how sorry she was. A quick call to her mom confirmed the news: "Ukraine is being bombed."
"We honestly didn't believe it was going to happen. I thought it was rumours. It was a complete shock for us; we never thought it was going to happen."
Khapko came to Canada with her parents in 2000 at the age of 11 (a year later, her brother was born). Her sister, and her three children, a brother and an aunt and uncle with two kids were all living in Odessa.
Her sister chose to go to Romania and two days after the bombing began, Khapko said she called her uncle and said, "You need to get out now because it's not going to stop. Go to the closest border and leave."
They chose to go to Poland and, according to Khapko, it took them 60 hours to cross the border.
"That how long the lineup was. It was really scary for the kids. They witnessed it all. It's traumatizing."
Applications to bring the families to Canada have been submitted "and now we wait," she said, but because Ukraine men aged 18 to 60 cannot leave the country, her brother remains there.
According to Khapko, Polish citizens are eager to help those crossing the border with offers of food, toys, clothing and a place to stay.
She is grateful that her family members are safe and being looked after.
"It really shows how nice people truly are, that there's good people that do exist and they're willing to take these people into their homes and feed them and give them clothes and a roof over their head, and that's exactly what I want to be able to do here."
Last month, Khapko created the Ukrainians of York and Simcoe regions Facebook group to "build a community where we could help each other out."
So far, there are 170 members and Khapko said she regularly fields calls from people as far away as Vancouver who are looking for ways to help.
The group aims to help Ukrainian refugees when they arrive in Canada with short-term housing, clothing and necessities, Khapko said, but also with finding a job, applying for OHIP and getting their kids into school.
Though she didn't flee her homeland during a time of war, Khapko said she knows what it is to arrive to a strange land, not speak the language and try to navigate things like transit and finding an apartment.
There was no one to help them, she said, and she doesn't want that to be the case for others.
She still worries for her family because even those no longer in Ukraine are still in harm's way, according to the Ukrainian news groups she follows that believe Poland and other surrounding nations will be invaded next.
Khapko said after moving to Canada, she continued to spend summers in Ukraine and seeing the footage of bombed out cities and of families being torn apart in her childhood home is disturbing.
"It breaks my heart. It's where I was born, it's where I was raised before I came to Canada and just seeing it all fall apart. . . it honestly breaks my heart."
Anyone who requires assistance for family members or to donate supplies or shelter can contact Khapko through her Facebook group.
