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Original poster

Will you be opening your home up to Ukrainian refugees?

999 replies

musicalfrog · 11/03/2022 08:03

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?

OP posts:
Dmsandfloatydress · 12/03/2022 19:08

Um go on holiday and give them the key? Ask them to feed the cats? It's a mum and child. Can't imagine wild orgies to be honest???

Blossomtoes · 12/03/2022 19:09

@LoisLane66

Goodbye to your booked holidays if you offer a room. What will you do then?
Put them in kennels with the dog?
Passenger42 · 12/03/2022 19:10

I had a look on a refugee accommodation website and it was vague as to how you stand in terms of if you are claiming benefits and single person council tax as you have to contact your council for info and be prepared to inform your house insurance.

I think a better idea would be for housing associations to look at renting empty holiday homes or purchasing more private housing stock.

Livelovebehappy · 12/03/2022 19:10

@secretsqizzle

I have a tiny space but a spare room. I will offer that space to someone who needs it because I would want them to offer the same to me and mine in a similar situation. Luckily .. I do not believe 'foreigners ' will attack me and my children. I hope that if I were in the same situation people would trust me to simple be thankful.:

My god .! I had no understanding exactly how many xenophobic people inhabited MN..

I think it makes me want to leave this space if it's full of 'forin' haters.

No-ones saying all ‘foreigners’ will attack their families, but you are basically being asked to allow someone into your home whom you know nothing about. Would you allow your child to share a space with a stranger, whose history you’re not aware of? They could be a decent good person, but equally they might not. In no other situation would a person think it a good idea to invite a stranger to live in their home, yet all common sense and reality appears to have been thrown out the window here.
Verysadatwork · 12/03/2022 19:12

“No, as we have no space. If we had something like a granny annexe, then yes I would. If only to keep he actually granny away.”

There is that...

mumofgirl1 · 12/03/2022 19:16

No I won't be, although we do have a spear room I have a 1 year old and wouldn't feel comfortable having a stranger living in my home. Plus i suffered massively with PND and anxiety after my little one was born and im only just starting to get back to my normal self. My heartbreaks for them and I hope they find refuge but I won't be opening up my home.

Sarbears28 · 12/03/2022 19:24

If we had the room in a heartbeat of course I would, as if I was in that situation I would hope someone would help me. There is however 5 of us in a 3bed house. We need to help. NATO certainly are not.

LuckySantangelo35 · 12/03/2022 19:25

@LoisLane66

Goodbye to your booked holidays if you offer a room. What will you do then?
@LoisLane66 Eh? What do you mean?
Rattysparklebum · 12/03/2022 19:28

@LoisLane66 you really are a glass half empty person aren’t you

adriftabroad · 12/03/2022 19:30

@Livelovebehappy, well exactly. Just because people are fleeing an appalling situation does not guarantee they are all good people.

I have a 13 yr old DD and won't be doing it.

Doesn't mean I am in any way Xenophobic. I will help how I can.

WomanStanleyWoman · 12/03/2022 19:30

No. I can’t afford to give away my spare room for free when people would pay for it.

LoisLane66 · 12/03/2022 19:32

I meant, will you still go on your booked holidays and be happy to leave your lodger in situ.
I'm all for helping where you can and if you feel you can cope but the reality is often somewhat different. Once agreed there is no going back.
I have the greatest respect for those who offer and keep their promise.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 12/03/2022 19:33

@secretsqizzle

I have a tiny space but a spare room. I will offer that space to someone who needs it because I would want them to offer the same to me and mine in a similar situation. Luckily .. I do not believe 'foreigners ' will attack me and my children. I hope that if I were in the same situation people would trust me to simple be thankful.:

My god .! I had no understanding exactly how many xenophobic people inhabited MN..

I think it makes me want to leave this space if it's full of 'forin' haters.

It's nothing to do with being xenophobic, it's about not wanting strangers in your home with your children. I would not want a British person that I don't know staying in my house either.
Guineapigssweak · 12/03/2022 19:40

No the cost will be too much as well as sharing a house with strangers. Plenty of homeless in this country who would love a bedroom in someone's home if they are welcomed also.

Hmm1234 · 12/03/2022 19:42

No unless they’ve been background checked sounds crazy

Blossomtoes · 12/03/2022 19:44

@Guineapigssweak

No the cost will be too much as well as sharing a house with strangers. Plenty of homeless in this country who would love a bedroom in someone's home if they are welcomed also.
Most homeless people wouldn’t say thank you for a room in a family house. And offering a room to a woman and her child or an elderly lady is a completely different ballgame to hosting someone with drug and/or alcohol issues who’s accustomed to living rough. But then you know that anyway and were just being provocative.
Icandefinitelydothis · 12/03/2022 19:45

Yes I absolutely would and I was reading about this just yesterday because I feel compelled to help. I’ve two limiting factors though. The first is that I’m literally about to start an extension and the kids and I will be squished into two bedrooms with a makeshift kitchen and bathroom for a few months, so literally no room…. Yet. When I do finally have room, the site I was reading said to only apply if you live in a city, which I don’t. Nowhere near. We’re out in the sticks.

I’m going to keep an eye on it though and when the house is done, will revisit to see if there’s any chance I can help.

Jenasaurus · 12/03/2022 19:46

If I had a spare room I would but there are 3 of us living in a 2 bed flat already so no space. I suggested this to my son as he has a spare room but he wasnt too keen. I wouldnt guilt trip him over it but thought I would ask him.

adriftabroad · 12/03/2022 19:47

But you don't know they don't have drung or alcohol problems.

daisypond · 12/03/2022 19:49

Once agreed there is no going back.

That is rubbish. Although they are asking you to commit to six months, you/they will be able to change your mind if the relationship breaks down, for example. That’s what happens now with the refugee housing charities.

daisypond · 12/03/2022 19:51

Something I mentioned earlier - are people still happy to host if your Ukrainians are Roma?

whatkatydid2013 · 12/03/2022 19:52

We are thinking about it. We have a spare double room with a small bathroom and we have plenty of space to spread out downstairs. We could rearrange a bit to effectively create a studio flat in one of the living rooms for a mum/a couple and have a bedroom upstairs for kids with a bathroom next to it. I think it could be a great experience all round. A chance for us to meet people from another country and find out a bit about their traditions and day to day lives in a way that wouldn’t normally be available. An opportunity to make some new long term friends. The kids might well gain an extra playmate or two for the duration. I mean of course you could also be unlucky and open your home to someone who isn’t so nice but in my experience more people are decent than not. We have thought about it before when they were looking for people a few years back for Syrian refugees and decided against it as the youngest was a baby and it just felt like we couldn’t cope with sharing our home we just moved into with an almost 1 and almost 3 year old. They are older now and I do feel like I could manage sharing my space better now

Dashel · 12/03/2022 19:54

DH and are currently thinking this is a good idea. We have two spare rooms and no DC.

Hopefully the government will provide some information soon.

We do live very rurally and a few miles from a irregular bus route, so I don’t imagine that we would be ideal hosts.

I donate money each month to a homeless charity but a lot of homeless people in the UK have addiction and other issues and I don’t think I would be a position to help them.

MayMorris · 12/03/2022 19:57

@lightisnotwhite

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.
You do know your daughter needs to come home at the end of terms and these term breaks are a lot longer than school hols. Where is she going to live from mid June to early October if you’ve given her room to a refugee?
Jenasaurus · 12/03/2022 19:58

@Firstshoes

Now the weather is getting a bit warmer it would be nice if holiday parks offered up an amount of their caravans for this. We have lots of large caravan parks nearby.
what a brilliant idea