Meet your guests and help them settle in: Homes for Ukraine
Information about how to make your guests feel more comfortable in their new home, set expectations about how to live together and communicate with your guests.
Before they arrive
When you speak to your guest before they arrive, talk to them about how they would like to spend their first few days in their new area. They might want some quiet time to rest, or they might want to see the local area or organise essentials like:
- food
- toiletries
- a bank account
- accessing a phone or the internet to contact family and friends
- accessing benefits or getting a job
- finding a local school
As a minimum you should try and make sure your guests have somewhere comfortable and warm to sleep when they arrive.
The day they arrive
If you can, you should try to meet your guests at their point of arrival.
Travelling to your accommodation
If your guests are meeting you somewhere else, they can travel one-way for free using the national rail network, light rail, buses and coaches anywhere in the UK (except for Northern Ireland, who have their own arrangements).
To travel for free, they will need to:
- show their Ukrainian passport
- show their travel ticket with your arrival date and time
- travel in the first 48 hours of arriving in the UK
They can also travel for free on buses, trams and the tube in London.
They cannot use the free travel for a return journey, they can only travel in one direction.
They can plan their journey and read more on the National Rail website.
When they arrive
As a sponsor, you’re here to support and help your guests to adapt to life in the UK.
Your guests will need you to share information with them about the area and help them to find places like:
- local schools
- doctors
- dentists
- shops
- churches
- community centres
- council offices
- activities
- local parks
Your guest might need you to help them find local services or explain how to access things like public transport, benefits or education. You might not have all the answers, but you should think about who you can direct them to find the right information. You might also find the answer to their questions in the guest guidance.
Access to public services
You should try to help direct your guests to public services. For example, this could involve helping them contact and register with a local GP and NHS dentist. Additional guidance on how to access public services can be found on the GOV.UK website.
Your local council is responsible for support like:
- registering children with local schools
- classes for English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
- giving advice and referring guests to mental health services and to specialist services if needed
- advising on how to access local Jobcentre Plus services and explaining what their role is
Council visit
Someone from the local council will visit your guests shortly after they arrive. This is to check that they arrived safely and that the accommodation they are living in is suitable.
If you have questions about local services that you want to access, you can ask the people from the council when they visit. They might not have the answer but will tell you who can help you.
Basic living arrangements
When your guest is settled, talk to them about the basic arrangements for living together. You should talk about any agreements you need to make about:
- using shared areas of the house, like the kitchen and dining room
- sharing housework, like cleaning and cooking
- any rules you would like your guests to follow about things like smoking, drinking alcohol, or noise
You will receive a monthly payment as a thank you for hosting. You are not expected to use this money to pay for food for them, or other support.
If things aren’t working out
If things aren’t working out with your guest, you can find out what the next steps are and who to contact.
Communicating with your guests
Some guests will have a good knowledge of the English language, but some will not. There are different ways you can communicate with your guest if language is a barrier.
Being able to communicate well with your guests is important. Here are some links to communication resources:
- 14 Basic Ukrainian Phrases
- Country Navigator: videos and PDFs about cultural differences in the way we communicate. It’s also useful as a cultural guide to hosting
- Communication boards: a PDF with images or symbols and related words that can be used to communicate health information or issues, general needs and charts for children in school. These can be downloaded or printed and given to your guests.
If you have a smartphone, you can download google translate which can provide real-time translation.
Your wellbeing
As a sponsor you might like to talk to and share things with others who are also sponsoring in your area. Your local authority or the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) might be able to help you find a local peer support group.
We also know sponsorship works best when the responsibility for hosting and supporting guests is shared. This guide shows you How to build a support group.
Sponsors and guests might need some time out or space from their living arrangement. This support varies across the country, but here are some good examples:
- Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) offer drop-in sessions or may be able to direct you to a local support group that does
- Your local council may also have organised activities for children during school holidays. Check their websites for more information
Your guest’s wellbeing
You will want to help your guests to understand where they can go for more help.
The British Red Cross
The British Red Cross has some useful videos in Ukrainian that you can share with guests.
They have a free helpline where you, or your guests, can ask for an interpreter and receive emotional support.
- helpline number: 0808 196 3651
- open every day 10 am to 6pm
Barnardo’s
Barnardo’s have set up the Ukrainian Support Helpline to provide a support service for a wide range of needs. Barnardo’s helpline for Ukrainians.
- helpline number: 0800 148 8586
- open Monday to Friday 10am to 8pm, and Saturday 10am to 3pm
- you can also email ukrainiansupport@barnardos.org.uk
While we hope that the information included here is useful, this guide has links to information created by charities and other voluntary organisations, not the UK government, and responsibility for the content sits with those organisations. Inclusion in this guide should also not be seen as endorsement from the UK government of the information provided.
Mental health
Your guests may need support to look after their physical and mental health. Here are some links that your guests might find useful:
- Sane Ukraine: trauma support for people from Ukraine, daily sessions at 7.30pm Ukrainian time
- Doctors of the world have a series of translated resources about the UK healthcare system
- Thrive LDN: guides for wellbeing for guests
You should explain to your guest that in the UK it is normal to speak to up about mental health struggles, and that anything they say to professionals will be completely confidential.