On Feb. 25, the day after Russian bombs began to fall on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the Stozhok family made the difficult decision to leave their home country.
Olexander and Olena Stozhok took their daughters — Milana, 7, Daryna, 4, and 15-month-old Sofia — and fled to neighboring Romania, leaving behind their businesses, their friends and the dream home they’d built just four months prior.
At first, they believed the evacuation would be short-term. Instead, the young family became part of Europe’s fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II. Nearly 7 million Ukrainians — about a sixth of the population — are thought to have left the country.
The Stozhoks traveled to Spain and then to Mexico, where they found a queue reserved to Ukrainian refugees seeking entry into the United States. Olexander and Olena Stozhok remembered a vacation they’d taken six years prior where they got to know someone from the Ponte Vedra area. Having heard what a nice place the First Coast was, they made it their destination.
Arriving here, they still faced tremendous challenges.
Back in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, they not only had a home, they also had a means of earning a living. Olena Stozhok, who said her first job was “being a mom,” also worked from home making flower arrangements. She and her husband had a shoe store and also a small restaurant. In addition, Olexander Stozhok made toys to sell on Etsy.
Now they found themselves in a land where they didn’t speak the language, didn’t have job or credit histories, didn’t have Social Security numbers and really didn’t know anyone.
Fortunately, some local residents stepped up to help.
Natalia Plyam moved to the First Coast from Ukraine in 1989. Like many others, she wanted to help those impacted by the war, but didn’t really know what she could do.
Then, she saw a post on a Facebook page dedicated to speakers of Russian and Ukrainian. The writer was asking where to find good schools in the region. Plyam recommended St. Johns County schools and asked if there was anything else the writer needed.
The response: “Maybe some furniture.”
The writer was Olena Stozhok.
“That’s when we started talking, and I realized they really came here without anything,” Plyam said.
She asked who was helping them. The answer came back: “Nobody.”
Plyam had found a concrete way to really help someone in need, but that would not be as easy as it seemed at first. She called around to local charities but couldn’t find the family a better place to stay than a homeless shelter. Then, she turned to a hyperlocal social networking app called Nextdoor.
And the help poured in.
One neighbor made a very large monetary donation, and Plyam was able to get the family into an Airbnb rental for a few days. A couple donated the use of their condo for three months. Someone else donated a car.
Plyam called the response “unbelievable.”
“Nextdoor has been an invaluable resource for us,” she said.
When Dr. Karen Wolf, a local optometrist, saw the posts on Nextdoor, she quickly joined the effort. Like Plyam, she’d been wanting to help somehow, but all she had been able to do was donate to various relief organizations.
“I am so grateful to have crossed paths with this family and be able to help out,” wrote Wolf in a text message. “They are starting over, but with our community’s help, support and love, they will overcome this hardship.”
Wolf used her professional expertise to help right away, repairing a set of glasses for one of the relatives who had joined the Stozhoks here.
Others did their part. A dentist pulled a tooth and another doctor saw the children free of charge. An attorney friend of Plyam’s is helping the family complete the necessary paperwork to get access to critical programs.
Meanwhile, Olexander Stozhok has found work. He repairs cars to be resold at auction. At the same time, his wife is working as a housekeeper when she can get access to the car. It’s a start, but not yet enough to pay all the bills.
“They’re going to be very self-sufficient, I’m sure,” predicted Plyam. “It’s just hard. It’s a new country. It’s a new language. New everything.”
Still, Olena Stozhok said she’s glad to be here, though she misses her new house and her friends.
“My family is safe,” she said with an expression of great relief.
Wolf and Plyam are encouraging local residents to join them in helping this family. They need many different things, including toiletries and diapers, but one of the most helpful donations can be made in the form of gift cards from grocery or department stores. That way, the family can purchase whatever they need most. Even gift cards from local restaurants would be welcome.
Beyond that, Plyam is hoping to find them a second car so that they can both work at the same time. She’s also trying to find a pre-K school — or even a summer camp — that can admit the family’s middle daughter at a price they can afford. Alternately, perhaps someone would be willing to sponsor attendance at one of these.
Readers wanting to help can reach Plyam at 310-902-1496 or myrealtornatalia@gmail.com. In addition, Wolf is accepting donations at her office: Ponte Vedra Eye Associates, 150 Professional Drive, Ponte Vedra Beach. The phone number there is 904-285-8448.
