Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, was pleased to welcome Lord Harrington, Minister for Refugees to the Ukrainian Support Hub in Mayfield, to meet local volunteers and hosts, alongside Ukrainian families arriving in Wealden under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
The Support Hub was set up by Mayfield and Five Ashes charity MAYFACS led by Lucy Jervis and Freya Huxtable and is located on Mayfield high street. It is run by volunteers and offers various free items that families may need upon arrival, as well as signposting to services and key information to help with settling in the community such as translating services and job offers.
According to the latest figures, 1,147 guests have arrived in East Sussex under the Homes for Ukraine scheme since its launch in March. Wealden is hosting nearly 500 guests, which is twice as many as in any other district in the county, and amongst the top ten regions nationwide.
Nusrat was joined by local councillors and representatives from Wealden District Council to urge the Minister to ensure that government support is provided to the Council in delivering assistance and access to local services beyond the initial six-month period of the scheme.
Nusrat Ghani said: “I was pleased to welcome Lord Harrington to the superb Support Hub in Mayfield to showcase the fantastic work that is being done to support Ukrainian families arriving in Wealden. I am incredibly proud that Wealden is accommodating the most arrivals in East Sussex, and I am grateful for the kindness and hospitality of Wealden residents and volunteers involved in local support. A huge thank you to and to all the extraordinary volunteers including Lucy Jervis, Freya Huxtable and Caroline Quill, who has been working tirelessly to coordinate and unite local hosts with Ukrainian families.
I will continue making representations to the Department to ensure that Wealden District Council has the appropriate additional resources it needs, and is supported in providing help to hosts and delivering services to guests beyond the initial six-month period of their stay in the UK. I also continue to press for more support for Afghans who have made sacrifices to protect the UK and are now fleeing the Taliban, and for faster administration of visas under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme.”
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