Relocation worries for Ukrainian refugee families as time with hosts nears end

A Ukrainian refugee settled with a host in the UK has said she wakes up every day worrying about her young son being retraumatised if they are forced to relocate away from their community. Tania Orlova came to the UK in April with her son Danylo, eight, and 74-year-old mother Liubov under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

They are being hosted by a family-of-three in High Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire, who have agreed they can stay for between nine and 10 months. Ms Orlova said their hosts are “so helpful and supporting”, but it is “absolutely natural” that they will want their space back at some point, while it will also be more comfortable for her family to have their own home.

The 44-year-old from Kyiv has started looking for rental accommodation on the Rightmove and Zoopla websites but said her lack of credit history in the UK was causing problems, while properties in the area she had settled in are “expensive”. She told the PA news agency: “Now we have come to UK, it’s really so welcoming and nice.

“At the same time I feel like we are in this Cinderella fairytale when we’ve got everything nice – nice dress, we are in this nice place, with a nice carriage – but then there is a certain time when our carriage would turn to be a pumpkin.”

Ms Orlova has a job working at a local charity, her son is settled in school and the family is registered with a GP. She said: “And now, what if I can’t find an apartment in Buckinghamshire, which is an expensive county?

“What if I have to move, what if I have to move from High Wycombe, where I am now, to another place, so I have to traumatise my kid again to move again?”

Wednesday marks six months since the start of the war in Ukraine. Around 81,700 refugees have come to the UK under the Homes For Ukraine scheme, with hosts expected to provide accommodation for at least six months.

Refugees whose placements are set to end will need to find alternative accommodation either independently or with another sponsor. Research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that the rising cost of living and lack of affordability was cited by 23% of hosts who do not want the arrangement to continue beyond six months.

Councils fear that homelessness could rise, with local government figures showing at least 1,300 Ukrainian refugee households had become homeless or been threatened with homelessness as of July 29. Ms Orlova has helped to organise an open letter to the Government from refugees, with suggestions to help them find settled accommodation.

A spokeswoman for Buckinghamshire County Council said it will be challenging to find accommodation in some locations “due to a lack of availability and high housing costs”.

Kateryna, a mother-of-two, has been living with hosts in Wysall, a village near Nottingham, since early May. Her son, 14, and four-year-old daughter have both started at local schools.

Their sponsors have helped the family “a lot” but are unable to host them beyond early November due to pre-existing commitments. Kateryna said they are struggling to find another sponsor who lives near to the children’s schools, and who can provide support while she continues with her English lessons.

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