Over 1,400 Ukrainians have arrived in Essex since Homes for Ukraine scheme launched
More are set to arrive soon
Last updated 8th Aug 2022
Essex residents have welcomed more than 1400 Ukrainians to the county as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
That's according to Essex County Council, who say that, as of Thursday 28th July, 1,408 people had arrived into Essex from Ukraine under the Government scheme.
In total, there are 1,081 sponsors in Essex, matched with 2,471 Ukrainians. So far, around 57% have arrived in Essex, with numbers continuing to increase.
Essex County Council Leader, Kevin Bentley paid tribute to the people of Essex who've opened up their homes: "The people of Essex are once again showing how generous they are when people are in trouble.
"They've extended the hands of friendship and help I can't tell you how proud I am of the people who've done this.
"It's not just those who've opened up their houses either - many people who can't host for lots of reasons are helping in other ways, which is tremendous.
"For example my wife and I are hosting two Ukrainian people who have become part of our family and we have a support group which is being run by volunteers.
"Those support groups are happening right across the county, so it's not just people who are hosting, it goes beyond the sponsors. It goes right through every part of our community."
Essex residents have helped the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) reach an important milestone, with it being announced last week that more than 100,000 people from Ukraine have been welcomed into homes across the UK.
Cllr Bentley said: “Since the start of this dreadful war, residents of Essex have gone above and beyond to provide support for our Ukrainian friends, first in contributing to the humanitarian aid efforts and more recently by opening up their own homes to welcome people from Ukraine with open arms.
“The Government has announced 100,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK under the Ukraine Family and Homes for Ukraine schemes. Essex has played a huge part in this, and I want to thank the people of our county for their astounding generosity. They have responded to what is a humanitarian crisis on a scale that many of us have not seen before in our lives with our county’s trademark hospitality and kindness.
“Getting these schemes up and running in a relatively short timeframe has been an enormous task and I must also praise our partners across the public and voluntary sectors for their efforts, as well as all the staff involved.
“Of course, we know there is more work to do, and we will continue working hard to ensure Ukrainians who arrive into Essex have all the support they need, both as soon as they arrive and for as long as they are in this county.”