Community Action Isle of Wight working in partnership with the Isle of Wight Council is gearing up to welcome Ukrainians to the Island.
The charity, which worked closely with the council to coordinate much of the community support during the pandemic, will be working closely with the council and other partners to mobilise the support required on the Island.
Co-ordination of support needed
The first activity will be to gauge how many people may be arriving on the Island and to then begin co-ordinating the vital response and support required.
To date, the focus of the Government’s efforts to accommodate those fleeing the war-torn country has been on providing visas to those with immediate family members in the UK. However, under the Homes for Ukraine scheme people can now also apply to sponsor someone to help fast-track their entry into the UK and more than 150,000 people in the UK have already registered their interest.
Bulpitt: Help us to gauge the immediate level of support required
Mike Bulpitt, CEO of Community Action said,
“We know that many people on the Island will be keen to play their part in providing shelter and support to people fleeing from the war in Ukraine and it is important that we act quickly to prepare for receiving people.
“The first stage of the scheme focuses on those who already know someone in Ukraine that they are willing to sponsor, and we particularly want to hear from those people now with named contacts in Ukraine who they will be supporting with a visa application.
“This will help us to gauge the immediate level of support required and help those Ukrainians arriving on the Island identify and access the help and assistance they need.”
Dedicated email and phoneline
To help support the process, Community Action Isle of Wight has established a dedicated email [email protected] and a phoneline 01983 539 374 which will operate initially from today and over this weekend but thereafter from Monday to Friday from 10am – 4pm.
This email and number is also there for any Ukrainians on the Island needing help and support.
Lloyd: Need to hear from those in touch with named contacts
Ian Lloyd, Strategic Manager for Partnerships and Support Services said,
“This is a process that will need careful management so that we can keep pace with those arriving on the Island and give them the vital support they need.
“Although we know the scheme will be expanded at some point to include people in Ukraine that are not known to people here, right now we just need to hear from those who are in touch with named contact and intending to sponsor them.
“We anticipate that people will start arriving fairly quickly now and it will be important that we can help them with finding school places for their children, help with medical issues, finding work and other forms of support.
“Community Action’s phonelines are likely to be busy for the next few days in particular so we would also ask that offers of accommodation, clothing, food etc which continue to be more than welcome are directed instead to other charitable efforts on the Island and not this particular phoneline so that we can focus our efforts on our area of support.”
Peacey Wilcox: We look forward to helping the Ukrainian people
Cllr Lora Peacey Wilcox, Leader of the Isle of Wight Council said,
“We know that the Island will be keen to play its part in offering help for people fleeing the war.
“It is our task to ensure support is in place, both for those offering homes and also to those needing sanctuary.
“We look forward to helping the Ukrainian people and sincerely thank all those who have come forward with accommodation, help and support, you are very special people.”
News shared by Claire Robertson on behalf of Community Action IW and IWC Ed
