Keeping out the welcome mat
Maidenhead: Questions over help for Ukrainians and hosts
A Maidenhead organisation has raised concerns over the future of Ukrainians living with hosts amid the cost-ofliving crisis – and reports of Ukrainians splitting from host families.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme was initially planned to end on September 18 – the Government has said it wishes ‘as many sponsors as possible’ to extent their sponsorship beyond this.
Rabbi Jonathan Romain of Open Arms, a non-profit supporting Ukrainians and hosts, said that the ‘big question’ is ‘what happens now’, especially given that people are worried about energy costs.
New Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to make an announcement on Government help with energy bills this week.
“The most helpful thing would be [information about] the support, so people know where they stand,” he said.
“The other questions is, what do the Ukrainians want? The idea was they would go back [to Ukraine] – do they feel safe to do that? Some may want to settle in the UK.”
In a meeting of the council’s cabinet on August 26, leader of the council Andrew Johnson mentioned that a number of Ukrainian families are splitting from their hosts and coming through the homeless system.
Rabbi Romain said that ‘even if they have a good relationship with hosts, they don’t necessarily want to live in someone else’s home.’
“They may want their own flat but some of them have no credit history, no references for private renting,” he said.
“What’s without doubt is that the goodwill people have when they open their homes and hearts is still there. We’re not seeing any drop-off in that,” said Rabbi Romain.
Cllr Johnson told the Advertiser: “Like the rest of the UK, we have seen a handful of cases where unfortunately placements have ended, due to the changing circumstances or aspirations of hosts and/or guests.
“Some have been rematched with alternative hosts and others are in the process.”
He added that the Royal Borough has an internal team to manage the Homes for Ukraine process and is working with partners to coordinate wrap-around support for hosts and guests.
“Where any placement unfortunately ends, our welfare officers and wider team members support the Ukrainian household while a re-match is arranged through the national process.”
The council then provides temporary housing in the interim if needed.
“[This] of course places extra demands on this service but we continue to monitor the situation and support hosts and their guests to sustain placements,” said Cllr Johnson.
“Thankfully, however, these are by far the exception – nearly all arrangements have been sustained so far.”
A Government spokesperson also said that ‘all arrivals have access to benefits from day one and we are giving councils an extra £10,500 per person to cover any extra costs’.
Councils under the scheme can continue to provide interim payments of £200 until benefits arrive.
Sponsors will continue to receive monthly ‘thank you’ payments for up to 12 months to help with the associated costs of opening up their home.
The spokesperson said: “We would like as many sponsors as possible to extend their sponsorship beyond six months while providing guidance for those who do not want or cannot continue sponsoring.
“To support Ukrainians that want to stay in sponsorships for a longer period, but with a different host, we are enabling a process of rematching and will continue to develop our bank of potential sponsors.”