thread for those interested in refugee hosting/sponsorship

[EezyOozy]

I thought I would start a new thread about this as I have just heard on BBC news that they are opening up a web form tomorrow to express interest. Apparently families/households can claim £350 a month (I assume for increased expenses) and refugees will be eligible to claim or benefits and work. We have large a spare room but live rurally so whilst I will express interest I'm not sure we will be taken up on it.

I thought I would start a new thread for those who are interested and to follow the progress of the registration procedure/how this pans out in practice.

Posted here because it's the only place I know gets plenty traffic, I will probably be asking for this to be moved but don't know where to.

First para here , from guardian

Link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/councils-funding-each-ukrainian-refugee-welcomed-michael-gove?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

Also that one day was on call so where is your work live balance ?

Just saw this pic - and the people sleeping here are probably the luckier ones

How are the hostees being vetted?

Michael Gove on BBC today was saying that church groups and charities can put people in touch with refugees needing homes. Perhaps these organisations will be involved in the vetting.

@ilovebrie8

Yeah I think she did say that it’s a one off payment. It’s not a good idea people matching themselves as the traffickers etc will have a field day...should be done by church /Charity coordinating that...too much scope for abuse otherwise ...

I think it is fair to have two variants of the same programme. One, to sponsor people you already know. Many British people have Ukrainian friends, colleagues, distant relatives they know well. With evidence of an existing connection to the person.

Another, to have a "lottery" matching hosts with refugees (subject to safeguarding and any restrictions / requirements). So that if some hypothetical incel wants to "host" a woman, he can end up with a 70 year old as well as 20 year old.

That does say it’s per month not a one off payment.

I would want to know exactly what psychological support would be offered to back up what you are offering. I think it is very encouraging that people want to help but the actual reality may be more complicated. ( it is similar to fostering or adoption) without some extra resources people will struggle. It seems that the Government will do everything they can to shift the responsibility onto caring families. Are people going to get an income or benefits for example? Where are the extra mental health specialists going to come from? Who will be watching that traffickers are not going to wait around for the most vulnerable (as happens to girls in care, for example) but this is not to say people shouldn’t think about it.

I also just wanted to say that many families are travelling with their elderly parents, many 80+, many in early stages of age-related mental issues. Don't even know what the solution for those could be, there are unlikely to be many takers.

Can you imagine meeting some random on Facebook and offering for them to come stay in your home for six months?

That's how ridiculous this idea is. It's great that people want to help, but in its current state the scheme is unworkable for so many reasons.

I would hope that Ukrainian cultural and social centres around the country and the embassy will get involved to help do match-ups.

@daisypond

I would hope that Ukrainian cultural and social centres around the country and the embassy will get involved to help do match-ups.

Would you trust them if they did? Not the embassy perhaps, but a grassroots cultural organisation. A genuine question.

@hassletassle, yes I had read differently too.

But 3 people were discussing I think, from Telegraph and The Times and made it clear it was a one off payment.

It'll all become clearer!

I’m going to sign up. We are stretched financially as I am a full time carer for my disabled son.
I don’t have a spare room, but I could move the boys in together for short term period.
Google Translate will help massively.
I cannot stand by and watch this happening to people that could be me and my children bar an accident of birth where we ended up being born in England.

Yes I would be interested in doing this. However we don't have much space and it would mean sharing a bathroom. My parents were evacuated during the war and my father in particular had a really positive experience which he carried with him throughout his life. He often spoke and reminisced about it.
If we cannot provide shelter I will be helping out in other ways. Donating where we can for example. And before I am brow beat about helping Ukraine we also donate to the Red Cross and I am particularly concerned about the situation in Afghanistan

Ive had people staying with his before, usually from abroad and usually female.

I have a small double room and would be happy to offer this as an escape for someone. The Afghan crisis seemed to want places but not give information - we had Afghan refugees housed in a rural hotel in our area

Families aren’t likely to want to be separated, so that very well may be elderly parents x 4, plus parents and children, and possibly pets.

I think it's a terrible idea. The money should be used to provide mass accommodation in neutral spaces - repurposed offices, gyms, hotels and b&bs etc. It's going to be a safeguarding nightmare. Handing out money to random people to house vulnerable women and children? It's insane, the potential for abuse is huge.

@daisypond

I would hope that Ukrainian cultural and social centres around the country and the embassy will get involved to help do match-ups.

Should a voluntary group be given such a responsibility? If something goes wrong, they would be liable for having made the introduction.

Think of the processes social services go through to place a cared for child in a home. The equivalent needs to happen here (and no, social services do not have the resources to manage the process).

My understanding of this was that there are different schemes running One is where you can sponsor a named individual (which has been running for a while) and the other is a new scheme where you register to house a refugee who would be allocated to you. I don’t think that the new scheme requires you to find your own refugee on social media etc. That would only apply to the pre-existing sponsorship scheme.

We were already planning to offer our spare room and scrape together enough money to feed them etc, so the news that they can work/claim benefits, as well as there being a payment to the hosts is a relief as it would have been financially challenging.

A lot of people on this thread are very defensive about the whole idea of housing refugees, but no one is going to force you. If you don’t have the space, time, money or inclination then that’s perfectly fine, but don’t pour scorn on people who are lucky enough to be in a situation to help.

And yes, the system might be exploited, every system is, but that’s no reason to dismiss the whole concept.

@workwoes123

I think it's a terrible idea. The money should be used to provide mass accommodation in neutral spaces - repurposed offices, gyms, hotels and b&bs etc. It's going to be a safeguarding nightmare. Handing out money to random people to house vulnerable women and children? It's insane, the potential for abuse is huge.

You would want people to stay in an office or gym? Hotels and B&B’s rarely have cooking facilities so how would people prepare meals. Much better for them to be in a family home environment

@daisypond

Yes, you’re not meant to be making a profit, or particularly breaking even. You’re doing it to help. Have you read or seen the Railway Children? They house a refugee -for free.

Yes....but tbf...they lived in a great big fuck off mansion🙄

@Helenahandkart www.bbc.com/news/uk-60724111 The existing scheme is for family connections.

While it might not apply everywhere, a lot of places will have local voluntary schemes that will put out requests for specific items on behalf of families, which can help for anyone hosting on a low budget and also be a method of helping for those who don't have room to host.
For example our local group on Facebook posts generic requests (baby items needed) and specific - 'family fleeing DV, need a uniform for X school and football boots size 8, items for a teenagers bedroom who loves purple and silver' When this happens a decent number of people buy new online for items to be delivered direct to the group. Our local group has already said they'd do the same for any new refugee scheme (as they're entirely voluntary they can help anyone they feel is in need, not just those the govt deem relevant)

Getting on the thread just in case.

It will be interesting to see how this 'scheme' pans out.

I imagine that most of us would have an 'ideal' type of person that we could imagine housing. Here for instance, single parent with teen girls, I'd potentially host a young woman. I wouldn't want young children or men in my home.

Obviously this is a time of extreme need, but, in reality we need to safeguard our own kids. I work in a role where I have to have the highest level of safeguarding checks. That young people (16+) could be placed without any checks is appalling.

As for £350 a month, it is a complete joke. If I housed anyone over 18 I would lose my single adult council tax discount, so that's 2.5 months of the payment gone already. For those saying if you need the £350 to do it you shouldn't be doing it - people are already being squeezed. With the best will in the world.I don't know many people who could do it without some sort of funding to be honest.