Ukraine war: Generous Fareham family joins 'enormous' rush to take part in Homes for Ukraine refugee scheme

Yesterday the the government launched its Homes for Ukraine scheme, whereby UK residents can sign up to house Ukrainian refugees – with the scheme’s website crashing within hours due to a hug outpouring of interest and support.

Among those signing up was Fareham resident Danielle Turner, who suggested to her husband the idea of offering a home to a refugee just hours before the government scheme went live.

The 40-year-old said: ‘My husband said to me maybe we should offer someone a place to stay, and funnily a few hours later we saw the

‘We’ve got a spare room here – a doubled room – that isn’t being used. So we thought – why not? If we were in their situation, we’d give an arm or a leg for somewhere to stay.

‘We’re just waiting for someone to get back to us.’

More than three million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, with women and children fleeing indiscriminate shelling hitting densely populated cities across the country.

A government spokesman said about 10,000 people an hour were signing up to offer homes to war-hit families and individuals, owing to the ‘enormous generosity of the British public’.

The government is offering a £350 grant – tax-free and without any impact on benefits or council tax – to support families offering a room, but Danielle said they would pass on the money to whoever comes to live with the family.

The mother-of-one said: ‘It’s not about the money. It’s just us wanting to help out. We’ve agreed we’d give them that money, if they need to buy clothes or food.’

Danielle said the family had never done anything like this before and the prospect of living with a stranger was ‘a little scary’ – but the images coming from the Ukraine conflict moved them to action.

She said: ‘In these modern times, what people are going through, it’s unacceptable. It’s like something you’d see from the 1940s – it’s shocking.

‘I saw that photo of the pregnant woman, she died yesterday – that made me cry.’

Last week, an Associated Press photograph received widespread coverage after it captured a pregnant woman being rescued from a bombed maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, with the news agency later revealing that the woman and baby died from their injuries.

Also moved by the shocking images and stories emerging from the war-torn country is former defense secretary and Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt, who has also signed up to offer accommodation to refugees.

The MP said that she expects a ‘lot’ of Portsmouth residents to offer support, not just with housing, but donations and volunteering as well.

Ms Mordaunt said: ‘I want to thank everyone for all they are doing to help these people. We would want the same done for our families if we were in these circumstances.

When asked if she expected other MPs to sign up to the housing scheme, she said: ‘People will be in different situation, but I think everyone is doing what they can.’

But the government needs to do more to support Ukrainians in their effort to reach the UK, according to Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan.

The Labour Party politician said: ‘The willingness and compassion shown by Portsmouth people to help Ukrainians is inspiring. Yet there is still no clear plan from government to bring Ukrainian refugees to Britain and far too many hurdles remain.

‘As well as supporting constituents who have family fleeing war, I have also been lobbying ministers to cut the red tape and remove barriers with the emergency visa system which Labour has proposed.’

For those who are unable to offer accommodation, there are still plenty of ways to support those in need, according to a spokeswoman from Hive Portsmouth, which has been helping to coordinate community support to alleviate the crisis.

The spokeswoman from the organisation said: ‘Many people want to know how they can help in response to the devastating situation in Ukraine. If people want to donate money we would suggest doing so via the websites of the British Red Cross, UNICEF or the Ukrainian Institute London.

‘At Hive we are working with those who are coordinating the response locally to provide whatever support is needed for those who are coming into the city of Portsmouth.’

And further afield across Hampshire, the county council is preparing to welcome those arriving in the county.

Council leader Councillor Keith Mans, said: 'For any immediate needs that arise over the coming days, we will have money available for items that are important for refugees - that involves things like housing, but also education too.'

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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