Many of Hackney’s residents are preparing to open their homes to Ukrainian refugees who have fled their country following the Russian invasion.
Over 100,000 people and organisations across the UK have expressed interest in hosting Ukrainians seeking safety through the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The first influx of Ukrainian refugees is due as early as next week.
The scheme means that Ukrainians who do not have a family connection to the UK will be allowed to stay for an initial period of 12 months as well as work and claim benefits.
Alex Ward is one Hackney resident who has signed up to the government’s scheme to offer the spare room in his flat to someone in need.
“It’s just the least you can do really,” he said. “The whole world has been completely upended and I’ve got the space. Frankly, why wouldn’t I do this given how drastic the situation is?”
Alex, 33, said he has already spoken over the phone with a lady in Kyiv called Yana, who he plans to host once his application is accepted. He said that he knew very little about Yana as they only talked about her safety and what life might be like for her in London.
“She’s obviously scared and living underground […] and she says there’s bombing everywhere and she can hear it all the time. And now she’s going to figure out her route to get out of Kyiv.”
“She said she was worried about money. She asked me if London is expensive. I just said ‘you don’t need to worry about that, you just need to worry about getting somewhere safe’. […] The government are going to give me £350 [per month] but I’ll just give that to her so she can buy whatever she needs.”
The two met through a Facebook group set up to connect refugees with people offering their spare rooms to people in need.
Kate McFarlane, from De Beauvoir Welcomes Refugees, has also signed up to host a refugee family through a community sponsorship program in response to the crisis in Ukraine.
“Our application is with the Home Office and we will probably be greenlit in the next few weeks. We don’t know where that refugee family will come from, but we will look after them.”
“We did it with a Syrian family who is still with us, they’re a wonderful family.”
“We re-launched De Beauvoir Welcomes Refugees in August last year in response to the Afghan crisis. When you offer to have a refugee family through the community sponsorship programme, we don’t know where that refugee family will come from. It doesn’t matter where in the world they’re from, they’ve been made homeless and they’ve escaped war or violence.”
The Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville, also wrote to both the Home Office and Foreign & Commonwealth Office to outline the borough’s willingness to support and host Ukrainian refugees.
“We are keen to welcome and support Ukrainian and other foreign nationals who are fleeing dangerous and chaotic circumstances, and alleviate some of the hardship and trauma they will be experiencing.”
Mayor Glanville added that Hackney “has long been a borough of sanctuary for refugees and those seeking sanctuary”. Now, Hackney opens its homes to Ukrainian refugees and is proud to do so.
