Two Ukrainian families visited Tattenham Library recently to meet UK families. Maryna and her son, Denys are refugees from Poltava and Kateryna and her daughter, Mariia from Zelendolsk.
Poltova is a town of 300,000 in Central Ukraine about half-way between Kiev and the Russian border. Zelenodolsk is a smaller town of around 14,000 in the South just north of Crimea.
Both Kateryna and Maryna have left their husbands behind in Ukraine and are now living with families in Tadworth and Kingswood. These families have kindly opened their homes to refugees who are now trying to adapt to life in a foreign land. The children will shortly be starting at local schools whilst their mothers are looking for work.
Central Government and our local Reigate & Banstead Borough Council are providing support to help refugees settle in the UK. To date almost 200 families have been settled in the Borough under the Homes for Refugees scheme, but homes are still desperately needed for families trying to escape the war in Ukraine.
For anyone who may be interested in hosting a Ukrainian family,the charity Opora provides an excellent website that explains the commitment and acts as a communication channel between UK and Ukrainian families. There is also a government site that provides detailed guidance. Click here for access.
You can then register your interest here.
The local council has also set up the following resettlement services for refugees. They will:
- Provide money and benefits support from within their Money Support team
- Provide weekly drop-in support groups across the borough for Ukrainian guests and their sponsors
- Offer housing advice and discuss any needs arising from the new arrivals through their housing team
- Support with access to their Voluntary and Community Support services
- Provide support to families through their Resettlement Team and Family Support Team
- Complete any necessary referrals to partners including health and school admissions
Thank you to everyone who has helped Ukraine either by giving humanitarian aid or donations and by offering a home to refugees. This is a terrible war that looks like continuing. Let’s continue to support the Ukrainian cause in any way we can.