London August 18 : More than 1000 British hosts of Ukrainian refugees have written an open letter to the government to ensure those who fled the conflict between Moscow and Kiev conflict have a permanent home. Since the war started on the 24th February 79,000 refugees have travelled to the UK under the Homes For Ukraine sponsorship scheme, with hosts expected to provide accommodation for at minimum six months, according to the news agency dpa.
Some of these arrangements will be close to their expiration date, with these refugees needing to find a new home by themselves or with another sponsor.
Already over 1,300 Ukrainian families and households have been deemed homeless or at risk with homeless at the time of the 2nd of July with housing and placements deteriorating and not being a good fit.
Councils are concerned that homelessness could increase when the initial six-month stays with some hosts come to an end.
The Sanctuary Foundation, which organised the letter, said that finding suitable and affordable long-term housing “is one of the biggest problems” for the program.
The charity released the letter on Tuesday, and by the time of Wednesday afternoon, it was signed by about 1200 host families who opened their homes to less than three thousand refugees.
It says: “As hosts who care deeply about the future of the Ukrainians in our own homes We ask the government to make sure they can take the next steps toward the integration in our local communities.
“There is no easy way to get their homes on their own, with social housing and the private rental sector already overloaded and difficult to get access.”
The hosts are asking the government to implement a set of actions that will assist refugees find permanent housing as well as the possibility of allowing Universal Credit housing allowance to be increased for a period of 12 months, allowing refugees to stay in their home area.
They are urging local authorities to become the guarantors of those who want to rent a house and also for the government to establish the steps for re-matching and to make it easier to find hosts.
They also echoed the calls of the Local Government Association to increase the 350-pound monthly “thank you” payment, which will aid hosts who provide accommodation for more than six months as well as those “bearing the burden of the cost of living crisis”.
The letter continues: “Knowing that our guests can leave quickly and safely when us are ready to move on will make a an enormous difference and reduce stress for those who have had to endure many traumas in the aftermath of an armed conflict and for those of us who host guests.”
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