Appeal to open homes to refugees from Ukraine

AN URGENT call for more households in Wales to open their homes to Ukrainian refugees has been issued by the Welsh Government.

More than 8,200 visas have now been granted to people fleeing the war in Ukraine who have sponsors in Wales. Only around 5,650 of those have so far made it to the UK, therefore homes are needed to accommodate the number of new arrivals expected to grow in the coming weeks.

More hosts are also needed to provide places for those already in the country but can no longer stay living where they are.

Under the Homes for Ukraine scheme hosts initially committed to housing someone for six months, and a survey by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found a quarter of hosts – around 700 households – said they would not continue hosting past that period.

Social justice minister Jane Hutt said: “In order to ensure a warm welcome to Wales, I’m issuing an invitation to households across Wales to come forward and open their homes to welcome those seeking sanctuary.

“We’re immensely thankful to all those across Wales who are acting as hosts to Ukrainians, but it’s vital that more households to come forward.”

There are currently 2,860 people from Ukraine being hosted in private households.

Hosts receive £350 a month from the UK Government, but there have been calls from the Welsh and Scottish Governments to double the amount due to financial pressures families are now facing.

Ministers and charities have warned that if more support is not offered tens of thousands of Ukrainian families could become homeless as the first six-month placements come to an end.

The Welsh Government is providing accommodation to another 2,804 people across 40 sites, which include a number of activity centres, hotels and holiday parks.

Over the summer, refugees were also able to stay in the student halls of residence at one Welsh university.

The government has also struck up a partnership with Airbnb to provide short-term emergency accommodation for when local authorities are unable to find somewhere quickly enough.

There are now Airbnb properties available within five areas, but more are to become available in the rest of the 22 council areas by next month.

Those who cannot commit to more than six months but could offer their property for up to 30 days at a time are encouraged to sign up to the platform.

A Host Support scheme has also been set up to provide training and advice to people hosting or considering hosting.