Long Island couple helping Ukrainian refugees

Helping refugees from Ukraine

Justin and Neina Vetrano of Long Island founded the nonprofit LIFE for Ukraine to provide transportation and overnight accommodations for refugees fleeing the war-torn country.

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. - Pastor Justin Vetrano calls the experience surreal. He and his wife, Neina, founded the nonprofit LIFE for Ukraine to provide transportation and overnight accommodations for refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine who are in desperate need of support.

"We wanted to create a link between the people here in New York and the people in Romania," said Vetrano, the founding pastor of LIFE Lutheran Church in Old Westbury.

The couple met 11 years ago in Romania, where Neina is from. They shared photos and videos from their recent trip volunteering near the border where thousands of women and children arrived by ferry, leaving behind the life they once lived in Ukraine.

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"Every two hours, we'd receive 500 to 800 people, and the ferry didn't stop," he said.

For six days, the couple was part of a hospitality team serving each refugee a sandwich and a smile. For 15 hours a day, they'd bundle up and brave the cold to give back to those who need it the most.

"When they'd get off the boat and have to wait in line to go through passport control, I'd be there armed with sandwiches and my wife with hot tea, wrapping them in blankets and giving the kids toys," Vetrano said.

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Students at Adelphi University attended a teach-in discussion about the unfolding events of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Many of the kids were too young to realize exactly what was going on but Vetrano said the mothers and grandmothers — many of whom had a look of exhaustion on their faces — knew the reality.

"These children will grow up in a different country," he said. "These elderly will live the rest of their days in a foreign land."

With help from the community, the pastor and his wife are raising money to transport refugees and provide them with housing while they figure out what's next.

"A bus will cost $800 to run," he said. "Per night in a hotel — we're housing 100 people a week — and it's probably $200 a day."

Another trip is already in the works.

"It makes a difference to remind people they're not alone, there are other people with them," Vetrano said. "And we'll work together to help them rebuild their lives."

Learn about LIFE for Ukraine here.

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Natalie Pawlenko, President of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, says Americans can do three things to help the Ukrainian people who are victims of the Russian invasion underway.