A representative of Kentucky Refugee Ministries anticipates an increasing number of Ukrainians to call Lexington home in the coming months. KRM Partnerships Coordinator Melissa Coulston appeared before the Lexington Rotary Club last week. Coulston said Ukrainian refugees may be eligible for a humanitarian parole program.
“Individuals or organizations can support individuals that are trying to come to America and they’re required to approve their ability to support them, but there has to be that one-to-one match where someone knows the Ukrainian that wants to come over,” said Coulston.
Coulston said those refugees who are crime victims, which may involve surviving torturous events, may not feel a need for mental care early on.
“After they get to a point of relative security, that’s when they have sort of the capacity individually to confront some of those issues that they’ve got. And that’s when we’re here to help them as much as we can,” said Coulston.
Coulston noted the vast majority of refugees currently living in Lexington came to central Kentucky from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She said there are other refugees in central Kentucky from places like Syria and Afghanistan.
