Taking in two Ukrainian refugees, a British mother pledged to ‘never again’ participate in the government’s Homes for Ukraine programme because she felt “completely exploited and mistreated.”
One of an increasing number of Britons who have left the programme as a result of a breakdown in ties with their relocated visitors is Clara Maguire, 54, of Poole, Dorset.
Many people have yet to receive a cent of the monthly payments of £350 promised by the government, almost six months after Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Others believe they have been “duped” by “non-vulnerable” Ukrainians.
Kievan mother and 44-year-old Ludmila Zosym has disputed some of the statements, claiming that the British hosts are the ones who lack empathy since they have never escaped a conflict.
A trauma charity concurred and urged for greater access to treatments for refugees as well as more mental health education for hosts to prevent extra load on the NHS.
As a result of the cost-of-living crisis brought on by skyrocketing inflation and exorbitant energy prices, a quarter of British families now enrolled in the programme plan to leave in the coming weeks.
Additionally, hosts have complained about delays in obtaining their monthly £350 handouts from local governments; as a result, pressure is growing on politicians to increase the assistance to £700.
One irate British resident of south London complained to MailOnline that after hosting migrants since May, he had gotten nothing.
While the Local Government Association, which represents 361 councils in England and Wales, claims it just got the government grant money in June and had to backdate payments, several say they have spent thousands of dollars caring for their immigrants.
After hosting a woman and daughter for six weeks, Ms. Maguire, a single mother who lost her husband shortly before the Covid outbreak, said she and her 13-year-old son “truly battled” before requesting the council to re-house them.
The air hostess, who just took voluntary redundancy, called the process a “disaster” and told Mail Online that she has yet to get the £350 monthly subsidy that is granted for each Ukrainian family accepted.
‘We have never been made to feel so uncomfortable in our own houses as we did with them,’ Ms. Maguire told MailOnline.
She said that the Ukrainian mother was a native English speaker who made around £700 per month from a French-speaking job while also receiving child assistance of about the same amount.
As they “would not eat UK cuisine,” Ms. Maguire remembers clearing out two more bedrooms and “taking them everywhere,” including to the dentist, the doctor, and the Polish grocery.
The worst part, she said, was that despite everything and opening our house to them, they never expressed thanks. When I told them I could no longer put up with their lack of appreciation and their kid being up all night, she claimed they weren’t being impolite and begged them to remain.
I informed them that there was no turning back now. They didn’t understand the value of gratitude, nor did they have any intention of integrating.
A Ukrainian woman responds to British hosts who complain their visitors “did not say thank you” enough: “We are facing being unemployed and homeless while our loved ones back home risk being slaughtered every day.”
West London resident Ludmila Zosym, a mother from Kiev who resides in Chiswick, was recently ordered to leave by her host.
The 44-year-old, who has served as the chief financial officer for a number of multinational corporations, said that Britons are unable to comprehend the seriousness of the Ukraine conflict and how it has affected individuals who have left.
It’s not about cultural differences, she said, according to MailOnline. More comprehension is required. People who have never experienced a battle struggle to comprehend what it’s like and how stressful it is.
Then there is the additional strain of adjusting to a new culture. The everyday worry of being homeless here follows. A further concern is how to get a work as a professional and not cleaning toilets when you have a strong degree, extensive experience, and had a well-paying position in Ukraine, but here there is very little money provided while there are greater living expenses.
“While you’re away, your closest relatives and friends are still in Ukraine and in danger of being slaughtered.”
She said, “Houses, vehicles, and benefits are still in Ukraine, so I have to start again.”
“People from any other nation find it difficult to comprehend that we still struggle with sleep and that we need to recuperate mentally, including taking medication to calm our tensions. More specifically, in my own circumstance… Maybe that’s why we don’t appreciate the British enough since we have so many anxieties and everyday pressures.
Ms. Zosym said that since her daughter, 17, does not have a permanent address or work in Britain, she is also finding it difficult to bring her across from Poland.
“I don’t know how many years I need to work here in the UK, beginning with the lowest jobs in finance – frequently with a considerably lower wage than in Ukraine – to attain that way of life I had,” the worker said.
I have worked really hard for the last 20 years to advance my profession, thus it is challenging for me to do a routine job for menial pay in the UK that does not advance my talents.
She said, “But I am still grateful to the British for embracing me. I am grateful to Poland, among other nations. Even if I may not express my gratitude in sufficient amounts, I am grateful every day.
“They wouldn’t even sip the water or the coffee, much alone walk the dogs with us or eat with us.” It was just horrible.
After five years of caring for him, Ms. Maguire said, “I lost my husband soon before Covid, so we do know about loss, caring, and appreciating the little things in life.
Although we truly struggled and requested the council to rehouse them, “I know there are amazing tales out there.”
According to Ms. Maguire, it was never about the money, and she is not pursuing the unpaid grant money.
Fortunately, we have the resources to cover it, she remarked.
Ludmila Zosym, a Ukrainian mother from Kiev who resides in Chiswick, west London, and was recently ordered to leave by her host, retaliated in response to claims of “ungrateful” visitors.
The 44-year-old, who has served as the chief financial officer for a number of multinational corporations, said that Britons are unable to comprehend the seriousness of the Ukraine conflict and how it has affected individuals who have left.
It’s not about cultural differences, she said, according to MailOnline. More comprehension is required. People who have never experienced a battle struggle to comprehend what it’s like and how stressful it is.
Then there is the additional strain of adjusting to a new culture. The everyday worry of being homeless here follows. A further concern is how to get a work as a professional and not cleaning toilets when you have a strong degree, extensive experience, and had a well-paying position in Ukraine, but here there is very little money provided while there are greater living expenses.
“While you’re away, your closest relatives and friends are still in Ukraine and in danger of being slaughtered.”
She said, “Houses, vehicles, and benefits are still in Ukraine, so I have to start again.”
“People from any other nation find it difficult to comprehend that we still struggle with sleep and that we need to recuperate mentally, including taking medication to calm our tensions. More specifically, in my own circumstance… Maybe that’s why we don’t appreciate the British enough since we have so many anxieties and everyday pressures.
Ms. Zosym said that since her daughter, 17, does not have a permanent address or work in Britain, she is also finding it difficult to bring her across from Poland.
She said, “But I am still grateful to the British for receiving me. I’m also grateful to Poland and to many other nations.”
“Maybe I don’t express my gratitude in sufficient amounts, but I am grateful every day inside,” I said.
It follows a lady only identified as Jane’s account of a “terrible” encounter with a young Ukrainian student.
She said, “I feel a failure, yet I believe some of it was partially my responsibility,” on Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio 4. Yes, a portion of it is cultural.
“Just, really be cautious. I don’t believe you realise what it’s like to have someone living in your house who isn’t your close family.”
I believe I was taken advantage of, and I’m quite furious with myself about it since I believe there are many more individuals out there who might have benefited from my assistance.
Another listener, who identified herself as a “lifelong Guardian reader,” said that she was afraid to speak out since her Ukrainian visitors “drove us to despair” until she finally requested them to leave “for the sake of my and my family’s mental health.”
They weren’t vulnerable, she said, and if they didn’t have a lot of private resources, we wouldn’t have asked them to go.
“I believe we overlook the cultural differences as well; as a country, we are courteous and subservient, but I find Ukrainians to be more forthright… What has occurred to us shocks me, and I wouldn’t do it again.
However, one listener took to the show’s discussion board to criticise the presenters’ barrage of unfavourable remarks.
My wife and I are from the Ukraine; I’m British, and my wife is Ukrainian,’ he added. Our host has been our home for six months, and he wants us to go so he may start over in his life.
He’s a great host and most likely a lifelong buddy. Can I rent despite working? We are now considering returning to Ukraine to live in hell on Earth since I have no history and the local authorities won’t locate us a new host.
We also have a tiny puppy, and it is overwhelming how many people can be so hostile, he said.
Leading trauma organisation today made the claim that British hosts often fail to understand the trauma that their Ukrainian visitors have experienced, which often results in a collapse in relationships.
‘Many hosts responded to Government requests for accommodation via the Homes for Ukraine initiative, unaware of the high degree of need to give practical help,’ Tiffany Watts, a consultant at Trauma Treatment International (TTI), told MailOnline.
‘In certain instances, hosting is failing and hosts are burning out since they essentially serve as inexperienced caseworkers,’ says one host.
One host remarked: “I feel like I’m in the middle of nowhere and I can’t seem to persuade the government to keep its promises.”
According to TTI’s study, hosts of Homes for Ukraine are unaware of how to provide their refugee guests access to mental health information or assistance and are also doubtful of which providers to believe.
There are a tonne of internet resources, but their quality varies and they aren’t usually evaluated by experts, Ms. Watts said. Additionally, hosts are often instructed to contact the council or take visitors to the doctor if they show any indications of trauma.
“This might place a tremendous amount of pressure on an already overburdened NHS, with lengthy waiting lists possibly exacerbating trauma.”
The hosting agreements between British and Ukrainians, according to Enver Solomon, CEO of Refugee Council, “were always going to confront issues in the long-term.”
The extra strain of the expense of living on families in the UK presents a further danger to vulnerable Ukrainians, he said. “We are already aware of hundreds of Ukrainian refugees, mostly women and children, who are at risk of homelessness owing to problems with their hosting arrangements.
In order for Ukrainians to live independently and reduce their chances of becoming homeless, it is crucial that the government provide hosts and refugees the proper assistance, financing, and counsel. This includes reviewing the funds.
“Both Homes for Ukraine and the Family Visa programme require enough attention and assistance to make sure they are fit for purpose to safeguard refugees in dire need of a secure roof over their heads and for families and hosts who have opened their arms to be able to help them successfully.”
It follows a warning issued yesterday by Vicki Bridges, one of the Homes for Ukraine organisers in Oakhill, Somerset, who has assisted in matching refugees with host families: “If you’re a sponsor, with the best will in the world, you’re inviting a complete stranger into your home and that can be quite difficult.”
I believe we have all found it tougher than anticipated, there were always going to be teething difficulties, she told MailOnline.
The largest challenges for hosts, according to Ms. Bridges, have been linguistic and cultural difficulties.
We all live differently, therefore even if they are living in your house with you, they won’t necessarily live the same way you do.
“It might be difficult to adjust to someone living in close proximity to you; it is a risk.”
The hosts should keep in mind that if refugees have children with them, they are not your children and that their parenting styles will vary from yours.
It occurs at the same time as another host in Lambeth claims he has not received his grant money since welcoming refugees for the first time in early May.
The south London council’s final communication with him was that the funds will be delivered “in a few weeks” on August 3.
According to him, it is totally unethical for councils to fail to pay host families on time. A typical business would not be able to get away with promising a new hire that they “should” be paid in “a few weeks,” he told MailOnline.
If families are ready to continue participating in the “Homes for Ukraine” programme for an extended period of time, ministers “may quadruple £350 a month compensation for housing migrants.”
As they are under pressure to give additional assistance, ministers may decide to treble the £350 monthly payments made to British hosts of Ukrainian refugees.
According to the PoliticsHome website, if host homes are ready to prolong their offer of housing beyond the minimal six-month period, the government might take action by increasing the monthly “thank you” payment to £700.
A request for further assistance has already received almost 2,000 signatures on an open letter to ministers.
The hosts requested that the charity Sanctuary Foundation increase the amount of the “thank you” payments, especially when caring for numerous people, providing housing for more than six months, and for homes who are particularly hard hit by the cost-of-living problem.
Additionally, they asked ministers to provide money for English language classes for people who have escaped Vladimir Putin’s invasion and to add monies to the housing allowance for Ukrainian refugees receiving Universal Credit.
According to Treasury officials who spoke to MailOnline, the government will keep an eye on and evaluate the assistance given under the “Homes for Ukraine” programme.
They cited the fact that the present £350 monthly payments were already tax-exempt.
I find it difficult to believe that local authorities could locate lodging for migrants for less than £350 a month anywhere else than in private residences. The government and local authorities might then focus at the very least on making sure host families are paid on schedule.
‘Sponsors are the backbone of the Homes for Ukraine scheme and we know the vast majority want to provide support for longer than six months, which is a testament to the generosity of people across the country,’ a spokesperson for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities told Mail Online.
“All newcomers have immediate access to benefits, and we are providing authorities with an additional £10,500 per person to cover any unforeseen expenses.”
“We are personally contacting sponsors and Ukrainians to clarify next steps and support options for them,” the statement reads.
It advised people who were still waiting for payment to get in touch with their local councils but made no mention of whether or not an increase in the award was under consideration.
In light of last week’s revelation that Ukrainian refugees are being expelled from their host families as a result of stated payment delays,
A breakdown in the relationship with their sponsor has left 1,335 persons who came to the UK during Vladimir Putin’s invasion either homeless or at great danger.
According to The Mail on Sunday, this has happened in a number of instances as a result of protracted delays in the £350 per month “thank you” payment, which has forced volunteers to spend their own money to “fill the gaps.”
In Birmingham and the West Midlands, Simone Schehtman, a volunteer, matched hundreds of Ukrainian refugees with hosts. She said: “In general, local administrations have been quite sluggish to distribute the money and this has placed some hosts under enormous strain.”
The majority of hosts anticipated receiving money by the end of April, however in Birmingham, the first payments were sent last month.
Some hosts, she said, were also receiving rewards.
In order to patch up some host-refugee relationships that had broken down due to delays and skyrocketing costs, she claimed, “I have personally transferred several hundred pounds in charity gifts to hosts.”
In order to disperse funds under the Homes for Ukraine programme, the government paid local governments in March.
However, the Local Government Association, which speaks for 361 councils in England and Wales, informed the MoS that it had to backdate payments since it had just received the funding in June.
Tetiana Bilousova, 37, and her two kids were kicked out of their home last month because her sponsor claimed they hadn’t been paid.
There was no discussion the day I was kicked out, she said.
“When I got home from work, I was abruptly informed that a lady would contact me the next day to take us into a hotel.
They made no effort to reach an understanding or communicate their differences. I was unaware that they had not been paid by the government.
Nobody was to blame, but sometimes English people forget that we had just left a war and that leaving Ukraine was not a pleasant experience.
“I wonder if the hosts didn’t understand why I was so upset and weeping.
My mother and my husband are still in Ukraine, but my children are safe with me.
Many more Ukrainians are feared to be forced out in the next weeks despite authorities’ obligations to make sure they still have a roof over their heads.
The executive director of the nonprofit organisation Refugees at Home, Lauren Scott, stated, “We are genuinely scared about what is going to happen.”
“We have received requests from various Ukrainians seeking new hosts,” one said.
Mariia Suslova, 65, was asked to leave the sponsor house she was living in with her daughter-in-law Natalia, 41, and three-year-old granddaughter Sofiia a few weeks ago.
“At first, everything seemed amazing, and we were quite thrilled to be there,” she said. Our home is your house, they assured us, but this did not last long.
The family is now residing in a hotel in the hopes of finding private housing, according to Mariia, since the hosts grew “annoyed” by having a child in the house.
Ukrainians are being trained to serve as mediators by the nonprofit National Family Mediation, which often works with divorcing families, to reduce any tensions between the refugees and their hosts.
Lord Harrington, the minister for refugees, and Vadym Prystaiko, the ambassador of Ukraine to the UK, have been writing to host families to urge them to continue.
According to a government official, more than 115,200 Ukrainians have entered the UK since the invasion in February.
The vast majority of individuals are integrating successfully, but in the small number of instances when ties with family or sponsors fail, councils have a responsibility to make sure families are not left without a place to live.
Councils may use a rematching service to locate a new sponsor in instances covered by the Homes for Ukraine programme, according to the statement.
It follows a poll released last month that revealed 26% of UK hosts wished to discontinue sheltering the refugee living with them after the minimum needed term of six months, with 25% of those respondents citing the responsibilities of the cost of living problem.
This is true even if they get £350 a month from the government as a “thank you.”
Around 75,000 refugees who were leaving their homes entered the UK under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, which was introduced in March.
When joining up for the programme, sponsors had to commit to a minimum of six months, but the cost of living problem has caused more than a third of Britons to now be “struggling financially” because of the growing expenses of bills, petrol, and the weekly grocery purchase.
Government data also revealed that 145 placements resulted in the refugee losing their house because of the breakdown of their connection with their sponsor or because the housing was considered “unsuitable” before they had even moved in.
Councils are now worried about the number of hosts who don’t want to keep sheltering their refugee, and James Jamieson, head of the Local Government Association, is urging the government to boost the monthly “thank you” payments.
Even if rematching is possible, Jamieson warned that many Ukrainian families could have to declare themselves homeless due to a lack of sponsors or other possibilities.
We hope that many Homes for Ukraine sponsors keep housing Ukrainian refugees with them, and we are now discussing ways to support it with the government.
Increase the thank you payment to a bigger sum, for example, so the sponsors may be certain it isn’t costing them anything.
Lord Richard Harrington, the minister for refugees, said: “We originally requested sponsors to host for at least six months, and we are working closely with municipalities to ensure Ukrainians have a secure place to live if they chose to move on.
“We are immediately reaching out to sponsors to lay out the next steps and the help available to them,” the statement reads.
Are you part of a Ukrainian family or a host who has had problems with the scheme? Email laurence.dollimore@mailonline.co.uk