By Olivia Vicol and Emma McClelland - 27 September 2022
Drawing on real-life case studies and a survey of 191 Ukrainians, our latest report finds that without urgent government action, Ukrainian refugees face a real risk of homelessness this winter.
Katryna*, a Ukrainian woman, arrived in the UK with her eight-year-old son and their cat in May 2022, on the government's Homes for Ukraine Scheme. They moved in with their sponsor, but sadly they didn't get along, and they were told to pack up and leave. A local woman housed them briefly, but as her own daughter needed to move back in, they were asked to move out once again. Over the course of two weeks, Katryna's family and our caseworker desperately tried to find alternative accommodation. Our email and six calls to the local authority's helpline went unanswered for days. When we eventually got through, we were simply told there was no emergency accommodation. Almost as if the council forgot their statutory duty to relieve homelessness, or indeed their ability to refer homeless households to local authorities across the country, they simply left the family hanging, waiting to be evicted. It was only on the day of their eviction, and with a last-ditch intervention from the child's school to social services, that they were finally provided with accommodation.
Katryna is one of countless Ukrainians who face the crippling prospect of homelessness in the UK this winter. Six months after Russia began its full scale invasion of Ukraine, and the UK responded with three visa schemes for Ukrainians, it is becoming apparent that refugees cannot rely upon the help of sponsors and families long term, and that they need urgent government support to build independent livelihoods in the UK. This is why we started this research project: to document the needs of the Ukrainian refugee community, and help policymakers implement the measures needed to address them.
What we found
Our survey with 191 Ukrainian refugees finds that, six months after the Ukraine schemes were rolled out, they face acute risks of homelessness and poverty:
How the government can better protect refugees
While the survey is not representative of all Ukrainian refugees, we believe that the severity of needs identified warrants urgent government action. In the short term, we would urge the government to:
You can read our full report, including all conclusions and recommendations, here.
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*Name changed to protect anonymity
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