Soviet Couple Find Friend in Volunteer

As they prepared for dinner at the home of the volunteer assigned to their case, the recently resettled Soviet Jewish couple said they objected to the word “volunteer.” Roger Winer, they said, had become their friend.

“It was strange for us to meet a volunteer,” 39-year-old Vera Zhukov said, “because before Roger, we had friends. It was interesting because we don’t need a doctor, but we need new friends.”

And so since July, when the Zhukovs and Winer were matched up through the Jewish Family Service of Orange County, Winer has evolved from helper to friend.

Vera and her husband, Vadim, 34, first went to the community center in April, within days of arriving in the United States, seeking resettlement assistance.

Except for what they learned in a previous trip to Orange County to visit Vadim’s father, the couple from the Ukraine knew very little about America.

“It’s like if you go to Russia,” Vera said, “you do not know how to reserve a hotel, how you call another town, how can you buy food.” Vadim added: “Even how to use the pay phone is very different.”

Winer, 30, a software engineer, also arrived at Jewish Family Service last spring, soon after moving from Ventura County, where he had volunteered in assistance programs sponsored for the homeless by Jewish Family Service and the Red Cross.

“I was brought up with the philosophy of ‘do whatever feels good as long as you don’t hurt other people, and your life is made more worthwhile if you can help others,’ ” Winer said.

In Orange County, he learned about other services provided by Jewish Family Service and was invited to become an “acculturation liaison.”

The job requires him to teach the Zhukovs how to deal with basic chores, such as what kind of stores sell food and clothing, how to obtain a driver’s license and how to avoid scams. And it involves “basically being a friend to them,” Winer said.

Other volunteers and caseworkers at the center take care of additional needs, such as providing financial assistance and finding housing, employment and health care.

The center also hoped that language or cultural barriers would be bridged by the science backgrounds shared by Winer and Vadim, a Soviet-trained physicist who is working temporarily in the shipping department of a local firm.

Winer has taken the Zhukovs to a synagogue, amusement parks and museums, and has also shown them things they can do without money, such as hiking in the mountains or sunbathing on the beaches.

“We are happy we met such a friend like Roger because we are very close to each other,” Vera said.

Winer said he is looking forward to working with the next group of immigrants, but will not forget the Zhukovs.

“I am going to be friends with them, hopefully, forever,” he said. “For them, I am hoping that it’s been good for them, that they have learned and have a friend. For me, it’s been an eye-opener.”

Roger Winer, 30

Occupation: Software engineer

Organization: Jewish Family Service of Orange County

Address: 2029 W. Orangewood Ave., Orange, Calif. (714) 939-1111.