Will you be opening your home up to Ukrainian refugees?

[musicalfrog]

Interested to see how popular this will be considering so many of us want desperately to make a tangible difference.

My OH wouldn't be up for it I don't think, and we don't have a spare room so I will avoid that particular argument. But otherwise I think it would be such a great thing to do.

The govt is asking for a minimum commitment of 6 months. Will you be signing up?

@Tiaptia85

how ridiculous to bring up race in here 🤦🏻‍♀️

I don't think so. We are a mixed race family. It is something that I would potentially be concerned about.

My 86 year old mother is considering it!

We have been involved in a community sponsorship programme to support a family of Syrian refugees who have come to the UK. They have been entitled to some benefits for their cost of living, so I assume there would be funding similarly for Ukrainian refugees.

We don’t have space in our house but will be contacting local landlords to ask if anyone can provide somewhere and then see if we can get a team together to support with other costs and practicalities

Yes. DS will be off to Uni so have a spare room. I wouldn’t mind housing someone although it would be short term.
I am very messy though so not sure I’m a good candidate.

Living with someone/a family who has been through such a terrible situation, likely suffering with mental health issues/PTSD, requiring a lot of support, would be a huge commitment. It's not something I'm able to offer right now.

I've only recently got to a point in my life where I can afford to live on my own and not with flatmates - it can be incredibly stressful and difficult sharing your space with a stranger.

I'm looking into how I can volunteer my time helping people with paperwork/getting employment/improving written & spoken English etc, it means I can do something constructive, but able to keep myself seperate from it in the evenings.

It probably is selfish, but my job is stressful and all consuming, I feel on the edge of burnout, and want to keep my space as my space.

I would in a heartbeat.
Six months ago I moved from a 3 bed house to a 1 bed flat so I barely have room for myself.
But I think about those people whose homes have literally been bombed into oblivion, and I put myself in their shoes…
Yes, if I could, I would.
@Dmsandfloatydress has it right.

I would love to but we live rurally with no public transport and we're both out at work all day. They wouldn't even have access to any kind of shop let alone any work. We'd only have room for one and one child small enough to share a small double bed. Nevertheless, I will make an offer and see what happens.

Not unless the government help me out with the expected increased bills, I'm suffocating as it is.

Absolutely not.

I don’t have the room but I do not think I could afford to anyway ,an extra at least 2 people eating using utilities etc . Plus I’ve meet a lot of Ukrainian friends over the years that lived in the U.K. and one of the thinks they say is that racism is a lot more common than in the U.K. so with a partner and child who are mixed race I would be scared the person could potentially be racist ( and by no means I’m saying all Ukrainians are racist but it’s a bigger issue than here )

I'm afraid not. When I wanted to go out I wouldn't feel comfortable with people and children I don't know with habits I know nothing about, being left in my property. It would severely limit my outings. My energy bills would be higher, kitchen might be left a mess if they were eating before clearing away. Might be noisy sleepers, do many variables that the answer has to be no. I do have a house which is let but I have very long term tenants in there and even if it were empty, I'm afraid the answer would be the same.

They will get benefits in order to pay their way though..

*so many.

Nit enough to persuade me.

Not ridiculous at all to bring up race, completely valid point. Ukraine has a lot of far-right support, why would you allow someone with those views into your house? You haven’t a clue who you’re letting into your home, this isn’t going to end well I feel. The UK Government are trying to save their own arse here whilst putting ordinary people at risk.

I’m very glad that a messy kitchen is so far down my list of priorities.

*not

We are not a white family but positive exposure changes hearts and minds. It won't be easy but when I think of bombs raining down on small children just like mine I won't not provide when I can.

Yes - have small spare room & would share bathroom with DS16, so would like teenage boy or single adult.

We're being financially crippled with energy bills, petrol and food being sky high and now the government have the nerve to ask us to open our doors to refugees??

If they do get a job and go to work or even go out of the property, will they be sure to lock up securely when they go out? Will they know how to use the alarm system? Will they keep odd hours coming and going or be watching a TV channel you don't want to watch...too much to sign up to and no-one can give promises.
Will your mortgage or insurance be invalidated. You will need to tell them.

@Dmsandfloatydress
Respect 💐

I came on here hoping to see a voting option, to see how many people actually said they would. There was a previous thread on this when the invasion first started with people saying they felt this should be considered if there was a refugee crisis, and most were saying they absolutely would take someone in. But I suspect it feels right to say that, but the reality of actually committing to do it is very different. I wouldn’t take a stranger into my home - you just don’t know what they’re like, and apparently the minimum term is 6 months, so it’s a long time to share your space with someone who might not be pleasant to live with. But I applaud those that are prepared to take that chance to give a home to someone.

Yes. We're waiting to apply. We've hosted loads of language students so the privacy aspect doesn't bother me. Anyone with confirmed refugee status can claim benefits which helps with the costs involved.

I'd be interested to see how many would actually do this, rather than just trumpet about it on social media. Not many I suspect, just like all those (including many 'celebs') who said they would leave the country if Brexit happened. Just talk.