From the Holme Valley Homes for Ukraine Team:
Alexandra Hampshire, Mandy Louise Williams Brook, Rebecca Gough, Therese Cranley Aram
On the 18th March the UK opened its Homes for Ukraine Visa scheme, allowing families and individuals from the UK and Ukraine to pair up and to offer shelter from the ongoing conflict.
On that same date the Holme Valley Homes for Ukraine group was formed with the idea of providing support both to the Ukrainian people arriving and the UK based sponsors. Working in conjunction with the national Sunflower Sisters group to place families in need and with local volunteers we have built a strong and supportive community in the Holme Valley.
We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the local communities who have donated clothes, furniture, bicycles, toiletries, beds….pretty much anything we have asked for.
We have arranged evacuations, transport, flights, visas (possibly the most difficult part of this process!) and even turned our hands to home decorating! Within the valley there are now English classes three times a week, a Ukrainian café, welcome evenings for new arrivals and other social meets for sponsors and families.
The only thing that is limiting us now in helping more people is the availability of sponsor homes offered.
So this is a plea for help, because SO many in Ukraine still need our help:
If you are registered to sponsor but haven’t yet found someone to help, if you are considering hosting but do not know where to start or even if reading this has put the thought into your head for the first time…please, please, please get in touch!
We are happy to talk you through the process and expectations and then to support you on every step of the way if you decide to go ahead.
Contact us on:
holmevalleyhomesforukraine@gmail.com
With your help we can do something that will be remembered for generations. This is your chance to change someone’s future.