Bybrook Homes for Ukraine – May Update
The Bybrook Homes for Ukraine Group met again on April 27th, following Easter and the various commitments that group members had. The group produced the following: –
Our twin aims are
To provide suitable accommodation for Ukrainian refugees within the Bybrook community.
To support, advise and assist any hosts and their Ukrainian guests within the Bybrook community.
Additionally, we have been in contact with Marshfield homes for Ukraine and a group at St Pauls Church Chippenham. Also, several support groups in the local area and Wiltshire council.
The Marshfield group are operating as an enabling group made up of people from the church and chapel with support from the parish council. The villagers at an early stage all notified the group of any possible properties or accommodation within villagers’ homes that could be offered to refugees and the group coordinated registration and applications. They have so far three separate refugee families within Marshfield. They have many other offers of accommodation but are pausing with the three families to assess their needs and requirements. Once the families have settled in, they will register some more properties and look for more refugees. The community there are being very supportive and the local authority despite being rather slow off the mark are now also being supportive.
The three families in Marshfield are all housed in stand-alone properties i.e., houses, cottages and annexes. They have a list of further properties people have offered as well as rooms in people’s homes. The three homes that are currently occupied by refugees are being supported by the group. The group matched the refugees to the host and then handed over to the host. That would change if the host were not able to do that. For example, the owners live away and are happy to provide the accommodation but do not have the time or means to deal with the process.
As Marshfield is a local village and a near neighbour, we thought that this was a useful comparison for us and could provide us with many learnings.
We think as a first step it would be useful for us to establish what is happening in the Bybrook community.
We would be most grateful if you could pass the word and this document around to any friends and neighbours within the Bybrook area about us and our aims.
We would like to know:
- If you have registered with the government scheme homes for Ukraine?
- If you have, what stage are you at?
- What kind of accommodation are you able to offer?
- Are you interested in offering accommodation but do not have the time to manage the process? If so, would you be interested in speaking to our group about us helping with this?
- Are you interested in providing practical help and support to any refugees that may come to this area?
There is still some misunderstanding about what this all involves so here are some basic facts: –
- A community group or individual can register a property or rooms on the government website homes for Ukraine. Wiltshire council will check the accommodation is suitable and they will also do a check on the homeowner for any criminal convictions. (DBS check)
- The government will pay the homeowner £350 per home, (not per person) a month for up to one year as a thank you.
- If you offer your home, then you must commit it for at least 6 months and if you can up to 3 years. The refugees can work and or claim benefits. So will be self-supporting for day to day living expenses.
- At the moment finding refugees is still being done on an individual basis. This is something the group could assist with.
- When the refugees arrive, the council will give each person £200 in cash and a SIM card.
- It is the householder or groups responsibility to collect the refugees from the airport.
We now have a Facebook page and can be found at By Brook homes for Ukraine as well as the bybrookhomesforukraine@gmail.com email address.
We are now publicising our presence in any way we can via the new Facebook page, parish councils, churches, chapels, school, GP surgery local magazines.
We are hoping to compile a list of registered properties in the area. This would enable us to identify what interest/need there is for our group. We would also be very interested in hearing from anyone who would consider registering as a host but does not have the time to manage this process. We as a group could offer to do this on their behalf, as has happened very successfully in Marshfield.
We are committed to finding a way to help Ukrainian refugees who wish to come to the Bybrook area. Our research has shown that there are all kinds of people fleeing Ukraine. Single people, Couples, families and three generation groups.
We very much would appreciate your feedback.
Best wishes
Bybrook Homes for Ukraine Group
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