To ask if you'll sponsor a Ukrainian refugee?

[TheBeesKnee]

The humanitarian pathway means that charities, communities and individuals can sponsor refugees. I've felt very disturbed and useless this past week and want to do something, contribute somehow, make a difference to someone's life.

We have a spare room, so we could take someone in? Just need to talk to DP.

Would be interested to hear if anyone else plans to or experiences - either in this war or any previous if applicable.

@Woollystockings, Oh, thanks! Missed it all - Guardian is behind the curve this morning. I'll have a good read.

We're going to take in someone with DC if we can - we have a second floor that we don't use, so there's a bedroom and living room and bathroom up there they can have. They can have a microwave, fridge and electric hob, and can obviously use the kitchen if they want to.

We have a 4 year old ourselves, but one of us sleeps with him every night and he's never alone, so I'm not worried about him.

Thanks @DoggerelBank
The WFH is a bit tricky for me in that the work I do is sensitive/confidential & on video calls a lot with the public, but there could be possibilities eg requesting office space if it's something my employer would support me to do. It's not insurmountable. The biggest issue I think will be whether they'll accept people in my area. We are only 30mins on the train from a city so it's not like we're in the middle of nowhere. It is something I'll keep looking at as the govt make more information available about proposed schemes.

I live in the same house as my Gran did in WW2, she took in refugees, so of course i would.

However, i would also expect the Govt to contribute financially (similarly to foster families) set time limits on stays as they prepare permanent accommodation also allow access to NHS, education/language classes and to be able to work where possible.

@Alexandra2001

I live in the same house as my Gran did in WW2, she took in refugees, so of course i would.

However, i would also expect the Govt to contribute financially (similarly to foster families) set time limits on stays as they prepare permanent accommodation also allow access to NHS, education/language classes and to be able to work where possible.

Certain aspects of that are definitely being promised. "Refugee groups are expected to be involved in finding suitable host individuals or organisations - such as families or church groups - and it is anticipated that those offering accommodation will be expected to commit to a minimum of six months. Ukrainians entering through this new route are expected to be allowed to stay for a year initially and will be entitled to work, claim benefits and access public services." What is unlikely, in my view, is that the govt will provide accommodation at any point, given the housing shortages they're already grappling with. Education for kids, yes, but probably mainstream - no guarantee of specialist language classes within schools. Access to language classes for adults may be quite limited - but volunteer English language teachers may well step in to help.

While the govt may not contribute to expenses for host families, many local organisations would be able to do so.

@DoggerelBank Hope your wrong on some of that, language skills (probably provided by Ukrainians already here or bi lingual refugees) is essential.
Govt need to step up to what could be 10m or 15m refugees across Europe.

We should freeze the Chinese HK coming here to free up accommodation, they not fleeing war.

I would love to offer my home to a Ukrainian child. I have a spare room and live with my 12-year-old daughter in London with great transport links/schools etc. We speak Russian, so no language barrier. Does anyone know any charities that require foster homes for Ukrainian children? Apologies if I have missed them being linked in this thread

@XelaM

I would love to offer my home to a Ukrainian child. I have a spare room and live with my 12-year-old daughter in London with great transport links/schools etc. We speak Russian, so no language barrier. Does anyone know any charities that require foster homes for Ukrainian children? Apologies if I have missed them being linked in this thread

Normally unaccompanied asylum seeking children are placed with foster families, who are recruited through local councils.

It's a stringent process, as it should be, for child protection reasons.

@Potsofpetals

No adults but I would happily adopt an orphaned child tomorrow.

Ukrainian community is at the moment thinking about pushing for a simplified adoption process of orphans from Ukraine (not necessarily orphaned as a result of current events - many existing orphanages are bombed into rubble). Of course, not in the sense of relaxing the safeguarding requirements, but to cut away existing international bureaucracy.

We have a house that was wrecked by previous occupants we've been trying to fix back up. It was supposed to be a HMO but I was thinking, in the same kind of vein as a HMO we could have women and children in the rooms. There's three big double rooms and one small double. A huge garden. It would be perfect but I don't know how we would financially manage it, it's stalled at the minute. I'm trying to work it out. But I'd like to be able to help.

We are considering this. Could take mother with one child max. Red Cross in Ireland accepting pledges and phoning people back to find out more about accom on offer be that shared accomodation or separate accomodation.

The HK Chinese moving here have to be self-sufficient. They have to been born before 1997 and be in possession of a BNO (British National Overseas) passport
They may not be fleeing war but we owe them freedom from oppression and persecution

@Breakfastpancakes

The HK Chinese moving here have to be self-sufficient. They have to been born before 1997 and be in possession of a BNO (British National Overseas) passport They may not be fleeing war but we owe them freedom from oppression and persecution

Another group of people have been completely hung out to dry by this country.

It's a depressingly long list.

Secretary of State today said government is planning for Ukrainian 100,000 children to be entering our schools over time. Steps for interim educational access have been planned.

@forinborin I would be interested in helping with this if I could. I was thinking about it all night. The story in the news about the smugglers waiting to take orphaned children at the border, I cannot put into words.

There must be a better fast track initial placement process. I have two young children, could easily take two more, clean disclosure, would be able to provide GP and educational reference. Surely there must be a way we could help here.

I've heard of people acting as initial foster placements until longer term final placements can be found. That sort of thing.

I don't know I just cannot comprehend an orphan being taken at the border by another fate.

There was a report on the news last night about the problem of Ukrainian Roma, who are equally refugees. One family had 11 children, I think. I do wonder if people will be far less likely to want to host them, in reality.

I was wondering about this, but from the perspective of adoption? We have a one-year-old and a spare room which we could provide for a young child, and reading about orphanages being a primary target made me wonder.

Of course the UK adoption process for both British and International adoptees can be quite long-winded and rigorous (gone are the days when people could simply drive into places like Romania and adopt an orphan on the spot, as my relatives did in the early 1990s), but I wonder if the process will be expedited to encourage more families with the room and financial ability to consider adopting?

We are planning to sponsor an adult alone, or possibly an adult with a dependant child, but not a child alone as we are empty nesters in our 50s and I don’t want to get caught up in the responsibility for a child or not being able to go away or commute to work. I also work from home a lot so I’m inclining towards offering to take one adult, although I do have 2 spare rooms - a single and a double.

Going to get a locksmith in to fit a lock and key to the spare bedroom doors, there are 3 toilets and 2 bathrooms in this house but there’s only one shower, which they will have to share.

We’ve got an extra fridge and they can share our kitchen.

We’re in a market town with ok train connections an hour from London and not that far from logistics warehouses. Agencies take workers by minibus from here so finding some short term work should be feasible.

I think it’s doable and I’m certainly going to offer. There are quite a few neighbours here in big Victorian empty nest type houses so I imagine they will end up with some ‘community’ connections with fellow refugees as I would expect several people on our road to make a similar offer.

Haven’t read ft, may have been answered.

Are potential hosts going to have security checks?

There are ways to contribute to a community /church/ social group sponsoring scheme and other practical ways to assist that go beyond housing someone.

www.sanctuaryfoundation.org.uk/

I’m going to be honest and say that I really don’t like the idea of strangers coming to live in my home, particularly for a minimum 6 month period…and who decides whether they stay longer or not? After 6 months of potentially not getting along are you able to kick them out, or do they have a right to stay in your home until and alternative is found?

What happens to them when people jet off on holiday? When they go to work during the days? Who cooks their meals? Are they able to go through the cupboards? Who does their laundry? Do you become a host on top of working (in my case) a 50 hour week?

If I took some in they would have to stay in the bedrooms either side of my own child, whilst I’m on a different floor altogether…I don’t have beds in those rooms, I have an office and a gym, so where does my stuff go? And who provides the necessary furniture?

It would have such a huge impact on my life, my son’s life, my comfort in my own home, my anxiety and OCD (diagnosed) and I have concerns about my child, who is of a crucial age of development into an adult, wanting privacy and they are studying for AS levels.

I’ve never from the start thought it would be a good idea to rely on the public to house refugees and I’ve never once virtue signalled and said I would. So, selfish or not, this is not for me.

spare room? lol, I have never lived in a home that had enough room for the family without sharing let alone any spare.

‘Another group of people have been completely hung out to dry by this country.

It's a depressingly long list.’

We have hotels full of refugees/asylum seekers. Why are they in hotels? Because we don’t have anywhere else to put them. Now those hotels are filling up.

People always argue that we DO have houses empty, but a lot are not owned by the government. And I’d be horrified if the government was able to simply commandeer a home to house a refugee family.

So not we have the public being asked to give up spare rooms for a minimum of six months, but could this be potentially expanded to a year, 3 years?

Our resources are finite. We need more houses, cheaper ones. I’d love to build my own house, but I’m not allowed as the land is green belt.

@DoleWhipFloat

‘Another group of people have been completely hung out to dry by this country.

It's a depressingly long list.’

We have hotels full of refugees/asylum seekers. Why are they in hotels? Because we don’t have anywhere else to put them. Now those hotels are filling up.

People always argue that we DO have houses empty, but a lot are not owned by the government. And I’d be horrified if the government was able to simply commandeer a home to house a refugee family.

So not we have the public being asked to give up spare rooms for a minimum of six months, but could this be potentially expanded to a year, 3 years?

Our resources are finite. We need more houses, cheaper ones. I’d love to build my own house, but I’m not allowed as the land is green belt.

we have over 300,000 empty homes in this country but the majority of them are actually flats above shops owned by tesco express etc who do not rent them out because 1 its not their business they are not interested in property, and 2 because a lot of shops/flats were built at the time when it was the homeowners shop and the two are not really separate. it would take remodeling to make the flat completely separate from the store.

meanwhile councils up and down the country are bulldozing social housing when we have council waiting lists 17 years long, and in big cities are building god awful overpriced sky scrapers for foreign investment.