SJOG Homes For Ukraine: Scheme Concluded

In October 2022, together with St John of God Hospitaller Services (SJOG), we launched the Homes for Ukraine matching service. The scheme allowed Ukrainian nationals who were residents in Ukraine prior to January 2022 as well as their immediate family members to apply to be hosted in the UK.

The SJOG service provided matching, training and support for both hosts and guests. Together we conducted numerous information sessions both in-person and online to encourage hosting and explain the service.

Since October 2022, we have matched over 138 individuals with generous hosts across the country. The SJOG scheme has now come to an end, and we celebrated its successes on the 19th June at the Ukrainian Catholic Church in London, where we also launched the evaluation report, which you can read online.

In the report you can also hear from guests and sponsors about their experience, the challenges and highlights, and how guests are settling into life in the UK.

The manager Maria Pashkova helped me at every step, from meeting the family to
booking tickets, for which I would like to thank her for. To be honest, I didn’t believe
until the last moment that we were really going to the UK, until Maria sent me our
plane tickets.
I felt like I was in a gentle embrace, I didn’t even have to plan our trip or book the
tickets because Maria did it all for me. This was a new and extremely pleasant
experience for me.
The family we live with now is incredibly wonderful. Every time I talk to them,
I can feel how great they are. I feel how big their hearts and sincere souls are. I often think about the fact that thanks to your work and effort, we have met such
extremely kind, decent, polite and sympathetic people who are doing their best to
help us rebuild our lives. Thank you very much.

Liudmyla Rohova, Ukrainian guest hosted in South Yorkshire

Though the SJOG scheme has now come to an end, there are other service providers who continue to match Ukrainians seeking hosts. We advise that you check the Government site for registered providers: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-a-sponsor-using-recognised-providers-homes-for-ukraine

We thank everyone for their support with this matching service – there have been many lessons learnt throughout the process which we hope will help in the development and introduction of future schemes for people seeking sanctuary.