“There have been a few moments where I’ve had to take myself away and have a good cry, because I’m just so grateful that they’re here.” HomesForUkraine
However, things progressed further thanks to my eldest son, who was learning a little bit about what was happening in Ukraine at school. When I mentioned the Homes for Ukraine scheme to him, he said, ‘We’ve got a spare room, we should do it.’ So, after talking to the boys’ dad and having a good think about it all, I decided to go for it.
Applications for the Homes for Ukraine scheme went live on 18 March, so we filled in her visa application and sent it off. However, we later realised that her son needed his own visa so we had to send off another one on 19 March. Once their visas were approved, I called a Polish friend who was able to arrange for them to be picked up at the border. From there, they were able to fly to Bristol airport, where I picked them up., and it went viral – I love that video so, so much.
I also made sure her son had a toy box at the end of his bed – Olesya told me he loves Spider-Man, so a kind lady from the local area went out and bought lots of Spider-Man toys for him to play with. Overall, they’re settling in really, really well. Our boys get on like a house on fire and they’ve all adapted so well – they’re sharing things and teaching each other their languages. Olesya and I also have similar parenting styles, so that definitely helps.
While I’d encourage others to get involved in the scheme, I also think people should be prepared. You’ll need to make sure you’re financially stable because I’ve found the government support and benefits process to be slow, so you’re probably going to have to provide for whoever is staying with you for a few weeks. I would also make sure that your home has plenty of room to give both you and the person you’re hosting adequate space to spend time apart and decompress.
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