Red Cross report finds Ukrainians face uncertainty, homelessness, and potential exploitation in the UK

Pic: Pix-4-2-Day (Flickr)

Author: Halle Dolce

A report from the Red Cross released yesterday has found that displaced people from Ukraine in the UK face continued uncertainty about their futures and that ‘too many’ have experienced precarious housing and homelessness in the UK. Previous research from the British Red Cross has found that Ukrainians were over four times more likely to experience homelessness than the general population.

The report identifies that housing difficulties have arisen due to relationship breakdowns between Ukrainian refugees and their hosts, in part caused by insufficient training for host families, increasing pressures caused by the cost-of-living, and the guests needing to stay longer than had been initially anticipated due to a lack of alternative options.

The report also found that weaknesses in safeguarding had left Ukrainian people vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Some concerning examples identified in the Guardian article included: people being made homeless by host families at short notice leaving them with nowhere to go; one woman who was offered accommodation that had been set up for sexual exploitation with a lock on the outside of the door and video cameras in the bedroom; examples of families being forced to share extremely small rooms and/or beds; and some individuals who had extreme difficulties finding accommodation.

The Red Cross is calling for vast improvements regarding accommodation schemes for Ukrainian refugees in the UK. In addition, they seek aid provided towards displaced refugees to access the private rented sector, and an increase of affordable housing. These improvements are hoped to provide durable, long-term solutions.

The executive director of communications and external affairs at the British Red Cross, Sal Copley, has explained that, whilst the UK became a place of safety for Ukrainian’s over two years ago, ‘that safety has not always offered the stability people need to rebuild their lives.’ She continued: ‘Too many families have ended up sleeping rough or living in places where they have felt unsafe. This has had a damaging impact on mental health and wellbeing. We need to improve the support available for Ukrainians here in the UK and learn from the Ukraine schemes so we can create more effective safe routes in the future.’

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Halle Dolce is a Justice Gap reporter and a rising third-year majoring in Criminology and Spanish at the University of Florida, with a future aim to attend Law school. Halle has a particular interest in wrongful conviction and would hope to work with an innocence project in the future to help right the wrongs of the justice system.