Ukrainian refugees and their local hosts have expressed gratitude for support received from Newcastle City Council at an event held at Jesmond United Reform Church. 

Chris Bond, who opened up his home to Iryna and her daughter in June, told JesmondLocal: “I think Newcastle City Council has been pretty good in terms of communicating – it has employed two Ukrainians to liaise with hosts and their guests, so communications have been pretty good.

“I registered with the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme, but nothing came of that for some time. Then I heard via a neighbour that somebody nearby was taking in a lady and two boys from Ukraine. It later transpired that they were travelling with a friend, and so it made sense for me to accommodate Iryna and her daughter, so that they would have a local link.”

Iryna added: “Everything is good and for my daughter it is better. Chris helps me all the time. The council have of course helped me.”

The event, which was held last month and included Ukrainian food, music and dancing, was organised by Bond, along with Jesmond Library’s Sarah Mercer. According to Mercer, 80 people attended, raising £1,000, which will be split between Jesmond Library and refugee charities. 

“My motivation was just to make people from Ukraine feel at home here, let them have a party and to spread the word that this is an ongoing problem, amongst local residents, so they would be happy to support them in the future,” said Bond.

“Iryna did the cooking along with a team of about six ladies who did a fantastic job. That was the hardest work really – Sarah and I just put things into place. But the actual heavy lifting was the cooking, that was a lot of work.”

“We were asked lots of questions, there was some Ukrainian singing, there was a woman showing off embroidered works, and pullovers that she’d produced – the patterns are quite striking. And there was a young lady, about nine years old, playing the piano.

“Obviously the people who fled the war didn’t bring with them their traditional costumes – it’s not something you grab when the Russian tanks are coming down the street. But maybe if we can do this again next year, there will be time to get a few folks kitted out in traditional costumes.”

According to South Jesmond councillor Lesley Storey, there are around 150 host families in Newcastle, providing accommodation and assistance to around 240 Ukrainians, including 90 children. 

“The council organises a fortnightly drop-in at the Civic Centre, with lots of social support for families,” she explained. “We’ve also had an art group for refugees too – a lot of people who came from Ukraine are massively talented on a number of different levels. So, it’s about being proactive and really helping the host families as well.

“Our experience in Newcastle has been massively positive, but we’ve heard from other parts of the country, examples where relationships have broken down. Having someone you don’t know in your house for months can be challenging.”

South Jesmond councillor Laura Cummings added: “If the families need further support, they can go back [to the council] and have reviews. For example, if they’re struggling with mental health or anything, they can go and seek the help needed.” Cummings also said that more host families are still needed.

More information about the Homes for Ukraine scheme is available here.