Further £713,000 to help Ukrainian refugees in Herefordshire

Herefordshire Council is to spend a further £713,000 in the year ahead helping the growing number Ukrainian refugees in the county, via nine different community organisations.

Herefordshire Council will distribute its Support for Ukraine Community Integration grants to the following organisations for the year from the start of February through to January next year:

• Hereford Help for Ukraine (£99,887)
• Hereford Diocesan Board of Finance (£94,168)
• HVOSS (Herefordshire Voluntary Organisations Support Service) (£93,759)
• Herefordshire MIND (£81,980)
• Halo Leisure Services (£67,937)
• South Wye Development Trust (£64,792)
• ETHOS (Extending The hand Of Support) (£64,222)
• St Peter and St James Church, Hereford (£55,200)
• Hereford Help for Ukraine (further project) (£54,421)
• HVOSS young people pilot project (£20,891)
• Herefordshire Football Association (£15,649).

The government-funded scheme is intended to support existing community efforts, but also to encourage new projects and activities in communities across Herefordshire to support the ongoing integration of Ukrainian guests, the council said.

This includes helping them access training and work, promoting their mental health and wellbeing, and supporting their resettlement within Herefordshire.

Since Russia’s invasion nearly two years ago, 750 Ukrainians have arrived in Herefordshire through the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme, about three in ten of them children.

With no end to the conflict in sight, “there are still more Ukrainians seeking to move to the UK, but this is limited by the number of hosts who are available”, the council said.