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.

