Homes for Ukraine support session held in Irthlingborough

28 April 2022

A session for Ukrainian refugees and residents of North Northamptonshire who have applied to the Homes for Ukraine scheme took place in Irthlingborough Library this week, with further sessions planned.

The first session was attended by many people who were at various stages of their applications, with some thinking about applying and hoping that talking to others might help them decide. Other attendees were waiting on visas or families/individuals to join them and others wanted to look for a family to house but didn’t know how to find one.

Two Ukrainian ladies, who arrived in the UK and North Northamptonshire just two weeks ago, also attended.

The session was run by Irthlingborough Library, with future sessions planned for May and June, and they were joined by Naomi Scannell from North Northamptonshire Council’s Community Development team and Anzhalika Hall who is Belarusian and was on hand to answer any questions about basic language or culture. She moved to the UK in 2017 and before that was an assistant Head and Reception teacher of a very large Secondary School in the city of Mogilev in Eastern Belarus as well as working for Chernobyl Children's Charities.

We had seen that there were many online support groups for people making applications. We were keen to provide the library as a meeting place for those applying to host families and individuals from the Ukraine. The group was a great success. It was wonderful to see people sharing ideas and experiences. The best part of all, was welcoming Tatiana and Lisa, who have come to stay with families via the resettlement schemes. They are so grateful for the help they have had. It was a very emotional thing to see Tatiana hug her host and show how grateful she is. Hopefully a moment that the rest of the group will soon experience themselves as their guests begin to arrive in the UK.Claire Steptoe, Customer Advisor and Organiser for the Support group

Thank you to the team at Irthlingborough Library for arranging this session, I am sure it will have made such a difference to those wanting to help refugees from Ukraine, as well as Tatiana and Lisa who have recently come over to the UK from Ukraine. We would love to see as many people as possible at the next two events, so please share the dates and information with anyone who might find the session useful.Cllr Helen Harrison, the council’s Executive Member for Adults, Health & Wellbeing

As a council, we are committed to supporting refugees from Ukraine, as well as those families and residents who have applied to the Homes for Ukraine scheme and I am so pleased to hear that this session at Irthlingborough Library was such a success.​​​​​​​Cllr Jason Smithers, Leader of the council

Future sessions are planned for Irthlingborough Library on Wednesday 4 May at 2pm and Saturday 11 June at 12pm. For more information and future dates as they are announced, please visit Irthlingborough Library’s Facebook page.

​​​​​​​Alongside the sessions taking place in Irthlingborough, the council are supporting Ukrainian refugees and more information is available on the NNC website.