Support for Ukraine

BBC Bitesize has a parents toolkit, with wellbeing resources for parents supporting children and teenagers, including an article on "How to talk to your teenager about the invasion of Ukraine".

Educate against hate provides Government advice and trusted resources for schools and parents to safeguard students from radicalisation, build resilience to all types of extremism and promote shared values.

EdPsy.org is an online space for educational psychologists, where they are currently suggesting ways to support children and young people when having conversations about the war in Ukraine.

Phoenix Education has a "Worrying about war and conflict" resource to download, to help parents / carers to support children and young people's emotional wellbeing.  It contains tips on managing difficult thoughts and grounding techniques.

Save the Children has tips from a psychologist and child counsellor on how to talk to children about war.

The British Psychological Society provides advice and guidance on how best to support children who are anxious about the war, conflict and crises.

The Education Hub provides advice and resources to help teachers, families and young people to explore the difficult topics around the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to avoid misinformation. Provided by The Department of Education.

UNICEF has tips on how to talk to your children about conflict and war, and how to support and comfort.

We know that transport can be a challenge for guests and sponsors, so have invested some additional funding in community transport schemes across Herefordshire in order to support Ukrainian guests to get out and about. Community transport schemes provide a pre-booked, door-to-door transport service to help you get around, attend appointments, visit friends and enjoy leisure activities. Journeys should be within Herefordshire, with the exception of out of county medical appointments. Every parish in Herefordshire is served by a community transport scheme. Community transport is available to you if:

• No public transport service is available
• No alternative transport is available at the time you need to travel
• You have limited mobility, which prevents you from using bus or train services

It can be used by:

• Individuals or groups
• Able bodied people as well as those with limited mobility and those who use a wheelchair

You may need to register and book well in advance of your journey, so please ensure you book at least 48 hours before travelling. Your local scheme will be able to provide more details. This service will be free of charge, until the grant funding from Herefordshire Council allocated to each community transport scheme is spent.

Herefordshire Council have commissioned the South Wye Development Trust to provide dedicated English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) lessons for refugees resettling in Herefordshire and people arriving from the Ukraine. View the timetable for details of the current ESOL classes.

The situation in Ukraine is changing rapidly. The Government recognise the complex challenge this poses for charities responding to the crisis at home or abroad and have developed some guidance on the most commonly asked questions.

Visit the Government website for the guidance for charities and trustees. 

For any one of us, support for health and wellbeing is so important.

An Easy read guide is available to download if you’re worried about Russia and Ukraine.

Mental health and wellbeing information is available on the Talk Community Directory.  It provides details about local and national organisations that can help support mental health and wellbeing. The information can be translated into Ukrainian.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is distressing and concerning, and children and young people may have questions or be seeking reassurance.  Many young people may be feeling anxious about things they are seeing in the news at the moment.

CBBC has a Newsround section, with news articles about the war, appropriate for children and young people, and video clips talking to young people about their feelings.

Voices of Children are providing non-stop assistance to affected children and families from all over the country, providing emergency psychological assistance, and assisting in the evacuation process.

Application for the Homes for Ukraine travel grant will be available from 2 October 2023.  The grant which is worth £500 per person, has been made available to support Ukrainians who have come to Herefordshire on the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine).  The grant will give the Ukrainian guests choice to select the mode of transport which will help them access essential services, work and social activities.  In order to apply, an applicant must be resident in Herefordshire and have a Homes for Ukraine visa.  The grant can only be used for transport expenses associated with living in Herefordshire.   Herefordshire Council will contact those eligible for the grant with further details.

If you have accommodation you would like to offer to assist in housing Ukrainian nationals, the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme is still open for applications.

Homes for Ukraine scheme will enable individuals, charities, community groups and businesses to volunteer accommodation and provide a route to safety for Ukrainians, and their immediate family members, forced to escape their homeland.

If you wish to become a sponsor through this scheme please register on the Homes for Ukraine website. 

Linking up with a guest.

In Herefordshire the Diocese of Hereford is providing support for linking up local sponsors with Ukrainian guests.  The Diocese is a strategic partner of Citizens UK, a charity that has been granted  ‘Recognised Provider’ status by the UK Government. Through this collaboration, The Diocese can help match a Ukrainian guest to you and guide you through the visa application process.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor and would like to find out more about hosting an Ukrainian guest, please contact Lesley Grady, Support for Ukraine Project Officer at hosts-for-ukraine@hereford.anglican.org 

There are organisations looking for donations, to get urgent supplies, medical aid and humanitarian relief to Ukrainians.  

Choose Love are appealing for donations for supporting projects providing vital aid and services to those still in and fleeing Ukraine, including emergency medical care, food, shelter, clothes, legal support, support for the LGBTQIA+ community and mental health support.

Disasters Emergency Committee

Charities are in Ukraine and neighbouring countries meeting the needs of all refugees and displaced people.

How to donate:     

• Online
• Phone: 0370 60 60 900 
• SMS: To donate £10 text SUPPORT to 70150. Texts cost £10 plus the standard network charge and the whole £10 goes to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. You must be 16 or over and please ask the bill payer's permission. (Full terms and conditions and more information are available on the DEC website)  
• Or donate over the counter at any high street bank or post office or send a cheque by post to Post: DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, PO Box 999, London EC3A 3AA. 

Hereford Help for Ukraine Facebook group provide information about what support is available locally and currently have drop off points at:

• Herefordshire Leisure Pool 
• Bridge Street Sports Centre, Leominster 
• Lady Hawkins Community Leisure Centre, Kington 
• Ledbury Swimming Pool 
• Ross Swimming Pool
• The Bromyard Centre 
• Unit 37, Three Elms Trading Estate

Important: Please contact the group first to see what is needed as it is changing on daily basis.

Herefordshire Community Foundation with the Hereford Times have a Help for Refugees appeal.  Donations will fund the transport of essential goods from Herefordshire to where they are needed, with residual funds supporting the resettlement of refugees in Herefordshire.

The British Red Cross Ukraine crisis appeal – donations will be used to reach people in urgent need, to provide food, first aid, clean water, shelter support, warm clothing, hygiene parcels and medicines; as well as supporting emergency services and helping families stay in contact with each other.

United Help Ukraine are providing medical aid and humanitarian relief to Ukrainians.

Information on applying for primary or secondary school places for your child is available on the Herefordshire council website.

Primary school admissions – Herefordshire Council

Secondary school admissions – Herefordshire Council

Please note that the same policy for school admissions and school transport applies to all children living in Herefordshire. 

For more information on school and college transport visit the Herefordshire council website

School and college transport – Herefordshire Council

Guide for Ukrainians arriving in the UK provides information for Ukrainians arriving in the UK.  The  welcome guide, produced by the UK Government, includes:
- a glossary of useful words and phrases
- what people need to know in their first few days of arriving in the UK
- information to support getting used to life in the UK
- what to do if things go wrong
- legal rights and responsibilities
- applying for a school place in England
- a quick guide to key services

Herefordshire Language Network provides an interpreting service using local linguists.  They provide high quality, low cost face-to-face, video, and telephone interpreting, as well as text translation to public, private and voluntary organisations.

National Rail are offering guests from Ukraine arriving in the country a single onward journey via national rail, bus, light rail, and coach. This is free of charge to anywhere in England, Scotland and Wales.

The British Red Cross supports people from Ukraine who are in the UK. Their information helps families from Ukraine find out about services and support that might be available. There is information in Ukrainian to download.

There is a free British Red Cross support line, which people can call for any more information about British Red Cross, or for emotional support.  Please call:
0808 196 3651 (open between 10am - 6pm daily).

If people need a support line interpreter, call and say: 'can I speak to an interpreter?'.

UK Government has put emergency support in place for Ukrainian nationals entering the UK with their pets.  Using an emergency licence, people fleeing Ukraine can bring their pets to the UK with any quarantine costs met by the government.

UK Government provides immigration information for Ukrainians in the UK, British nationals and their family members.  The information is updated regularly.

Ukraine Advice Project UK are a group of volunteer legal professionals with immigration and asylum expertise. They are providing a free service to connect Ukrainian citizens in need of free legal advice on UK immigration, visas and asylum with qualified and regulated lawyers.

Ukraine Family Scheme allows applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK.  It is a free scheme and people coming to the UK through this scheme will be to live, work and study in the UK and access public funds.

Supporting teaching professionals from the Ukraine