Twenty Ukrainian refugees access support in North Tyneside

Ukrainian refugees and their host families gathered at North Tyneside Council’s headquarters to find out more about the support available to them in the borough.

Twenty refugees alongside their host families attended the drop-in sessions to find out about how to access the support available to them in North Tyneside.

The support is designed to help those who have fled the war in Ukraine transition to living in the UK as easy as possible.

Help on offer covers everyday life, community events and support services.

These include learning English and accessing local facilities for employment training, work opportunities and benefits as well as wraparound support that can help enable refugees into independent living and embedding themselves in the community.

Alice, one of the guests at the council meeting, has been living in North Tyneside for just three weeks after fleeing her home in Kyiv.

Speaking of her experiences so far with the sessions, Alice said: “It was great to meet with each other in order to exchange new experiences and knowledge, as we all live in different towns and villages of North Tyneside.

“We try and support and help each other. We came here from different parts of Ukraine: big cities, towns, and small villages. Every Ukrainian refugee here has their own story of survival during the war, and we’ve learned to empathise and experience together. We are united in the ability to survive.

“I like living here, it’s a nice area with beautiful parks, amazing North Sea, and bountiful fresh air. People have been friendly and polite too, and the local accent is not too difficult to understand.

“It’s been useful to meet the North Tyneside Council advisors to discuss the possibility of finding a suitable job for myself and I hope working with them will help with my integration into the cultural and community fabric of the North Tyneside area.”

Cllr Hannah Johnson, Cabinet Member for Inclusion, Employment and Skills at North Tyneside Council, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people in the borough who have opened their homes to those fleeing the devastating war in Ukraine.

“We want to ensure that anyone who is arriving in the borough is made to feel welcome and part of the community and provide them with the support they need whilst living here.

“From learning English to accessing local facilities such as our libraries and leisure centres, the drop in was hosted to raise awareness of the support we have in place to ensure Ukrainians can transition into life in North Tyneside.

“I’m extremely proud of the commitment of our host families, colleagues and communities to help those arriving to settle into life in the UK and I’d encourage anyone in this situation to access our brilliant support systems.”