TAMPA, Fla. — The lives of two families from different parts of the world are about to change.

Roaya and Tony Tyson of Tampa welcomed a Ukrainian family of four to stay with them.

Sergey and Yullia, along with their two boys ages 3 and 11, fled their home country of Ukraine. They left everything from their small town outside of Kyiv.


What You Need To Know

  • Roaya and Tony Tyson of Tampa welcomed a Ukrainian family of four to stay with them

  • Sergey and Yullia and their kids fled their home country, traveling through several countries to get to Tampa

  • Gracepoint, a Tampa wellness non-profit, helped make the arrangements

There were lots of tears, hugs and excitement as they arrived at Tampa International Airport Monday morning. Their journey took them through several countries before coming to Tampa.

The Tysons say they wanted to do something to help after seeing the devastation in Ukraine.

“It’s surreal. Something small we can do. Our way of paying forward. We’d hope someone would do the same for us. It seems like the right thing to do,” Roaya said.

Sergey and Yullia are one of the many Russian-speaking families from Ukraine, so there is a language barrier. But the Tysons plan to have them live at their home while they find another place to live locally.

Gracepoint, a Tampa wellness non-profit, helped make the arrangements. If you’d like to help the family or another one, contact Susan Morgan at Smorgan@gracepointwellness.org

Susan also started a GoFundMe for the family here.