2 Temple Law students travel to Poland to help refugees fleeing Ukraine

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Two Temple University law students spent their spring break helping Ukrainian refugees who escaped to Poland.

Patrick Long and Joe Hogan, both Bucks County residents, said they felt compelled to help since they both have the resources, and since such a large Ukrainian population makes up this portion of our region.

"I called Patrick and said, 'I think for spring break I'm going to go to Poland and help out.' And he said, 'If you're going, I'm going,'" recalled Hogan.

Long and Hogan first met up with a friend in Warsaw, Poland this week.

"We got in a car and we just drove to the border. We had no idea what we were getting into...The Polish Border Guard is really helpful with the refugees. It's a very orderly process," said Long.

The law students connected with the global nonprofit World Central Kitchen organization. They are helping the organization scout locations to turn into larger welcome centers since the number of refugees is expected to soar.

Long described the feeling of seeing refugees cross the border to safety:

"It was like a moment of humanity because you're there and you just were holding your heart to them, and they would come up to you. It was a human moment."

Both men said they also put their law school skills to use and hope to continue to help legally even after they return to the United States.

"The funding is there, so the issue is how do we set up a mechanism to get make sure we're spending these funds in the best way possible to make sure we can have affordable housing in a way we can help people to transition into a better life?" said Long.