At Reset, we warmly welcome the Home Secretary’s announcement of new measures to welcome those displaced by the war in Ukraine. We know that you, like all of us at Reset, are desperate to help.
Whilst information on how the new local sponsorship programme will work is not currently available, we know that friends, neighbours and colleagues will be looking for opportunities to get involved.
We’re seeing many hundreds of enquiries coming in from people who are willing to help and support in a variety of ways, from offering rooms in their homes to donating money. We’re also being contacted by many charities, businesses and individuals offering to sponsor individuals or families seeking safety.
We understand that the humanitarian sponsorship scheme will use a different process to the existing Community Sponsorship programme. It was announced on 12 March by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities that the government will start collecting expressions of interest for those wishing to host named individuals or families fleeing from Ukraine from 14 March, and we will post a link to how you can do this once it is launched. A further application and vetting process is expected to follow. Organisations and groups will be able to welcome, although the process for this is not yet known.
In the meantime, if you are looking to welcome refugees, here are some actions you can take to help:
- Find out how you can welcome a refugee to the UK through the UK Resettlement Scheme or Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme via Community Sponsorship
- Show your support to the Together with Refugees campaign and demonstrate that all refugees are welcome here
- Donate to the DEC Ukrainian appeal
- Offer properties to your local authority for refugees on the government portal
- Sanctuary Foundation are gathering pledges from people wishing to sponsor Ukrainians
- Find out about hosting refugees in your area through organisations such as Refugees at Home, Room for Refugees or Sanctuary Hosting. Please note that the number of people coming forward to host individuals or families is huge, some organisations might only be looking for hosts in specific areas. Please be patient whilst organisations get back to you. Your offer of support is so appreciated.
- Discover your local City of Sanctuary group and the work they do in their communities and with local authorities, schools, universities, libraries and theatres.
We will continue to provide updates as we have them.
