W
hen the war in Ukraine started, I felt
shocked. My family and friends speak
Russian, and we are all from differ-
ent parts of the former Soviet Union. Many of my
friends and colleagues are from Ukraine.
I am a social worker focusing on older adults
at Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit,
having come to the U.S. in 1995 as a refugee from
Moscow, Russia. One of my grandparents was born
in a little shtetl in Ukraine, and my mom and her
parents lived in Kharkiv for 10 years with the fond-
est memories of the beautiful city. Or what the city
was before this war.
It felt absurd, surreal, and there was nothing I
could do to change that. I could try to help my
friends, talking them through the grief and betrayal.
I could lead a group meditation and facilitate a trau-
ma impact conversation with our staff at JFS who
had family in Ukraine or worked with Holocaust
survivors, many of whom were born in Ukraine.
I donated money to humanitarian aid organi-
zations and talked to our partner agencies about
any plans for refugee resettlement for those escap-
ing war. But I wanted to do more. And when our
agency received a request from the Network of
Jewish Human Service Agencies, calling on Russian-
speaking mental health professionals to volunteer
in Poland assisting Ukrainian refugees, I raised my
hand.
With the blessing and support of Jewish Family
Service CEO Perry Ohren, I applied for a two-
week deployment with the American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish
Agency for Israel (JAFI) and was selected for this
mission, funded in part by the Jewish Federations of
North America.
JFS Detroit social worker aids
Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
Witness
to War
YULIYA GAYDAYENKO JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE
14 | MAY 5 • 2022
ON THE COVER
TOP: Ukrainian refugees at the airport before
their flight to their new life in Israel.
ABOVE: The Ghetto Wall marker in Warsaw.