From War Zone to Home: Support Margaryta's New Beginnings

The Northern New Jersey Sanctuary Coalition (NNJSC, Inc.) is seeking your support for Margaryta Zatuchna, an 84-year-old survivor of the traumas of war throughout history. At only one year old (in 1941), she was forced to flee the Nazi invasion of Ukraine with her family, making her one of the few remaining Holocaust survivors today. More recently, in 2022, Margaryta was once again displaced from her home in Kharkiv, Ukraine, when Vladimir Putin's army invaded — forcing her to leave everything behind except a few necessities.

Today, Margaryta resides in northern New Jersey near her elderly brother and sister-in-law, who help support her with their visits and limited financial resources. She is also legally blind, needs a personal assistant to walk outside, and speaks limited English.

Soon after Margaryta arrived in the U.S., she secured an apartment with rental assistance from NNJSC. Unfortunately, these funds have been depleted. Although she has recently obtained asylum status, entitling her to some benefits, including subsidized housing and SSI, there is a backlog of available subsidized housing, with lengthy wait times delaying the critical financial aid she urgently requires. Her current monthly rent costs $1,872. At present, her resources only cover half of the rent, leaving her needing additional support for at least the next six months. 

Your generous love and support will help Margaryta feel safe and secure in her current housing. With your tax-deductible donations, all funds received will help to cover her rental costs. Approximately $5,000 is needed to cover her rent for six more months, and we hope that she will be able to secure affordable housing in the near future beyond that time frame, but the wait for subsidized housing could be a year or more. Until then, your donations are critical to enable her to remain in her current apartment.

For more about Margaryta's story, please refer to the CNN video of her escape from Ukraine into Poland: https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2022/04/04/kharkiv-holocaust-survivor-abdelaziz-pkg-intl-ldn-vpx.cnn." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2022/04/04/kharkiv-holocaust-survivor-abdelaziz-pkg-intl-ldn-vpx.cnn.

The NNJSC is an all-volunteer, non-profit coalition of religious congregations, human rights organizations, and affiliated individuals who have joined together to provide humanitarian support for asylum seekers and asylees.