A charity is assisting Ukrainians in finding UK hosts in order to reduce their work load.

 A primary charity that has been assisting the government in reuniting Ukrainian refugees with UK hosts after initial placements terminate or fail is scaling back its efforts because the system is deemed untenable.

Refugees at Home is one of five voluntary and community organizations recognized by the gov. UK website as "recognized providers" to assist in matching and rematching Ukrainian refugees with UK hosts.

Hosting agreements are for at least six months, and many are coming to an end since the system launched in March. Rematching requests from Ukrainians are growing as fewer UK hosts come forward.

Many Ukrainian households have become homeless, with around one-third of them residing in London. According to official estimates, 1,565 Ukrainian families were recognized as homeless by municipalities between February 24 and August 26, 2022.

"We are extremely sorry that Refugees at Home is unable to assist with any rematching requests under the Homes for Ukraine initiative for placements that were not initially arranged through Refugees at Home," stated Refugees at Home.

"This is due to the rules and requirements of the Homes for Ukraine initiative," the statement continues.

"In addition to hosts and guests, we have been approached by several local governments who have requested us to assist them in arranging these rematches." Unfortunately, we are unable to do so due to the intricacies of the existing program."

The Local Government Association has also voiced worry over Ukrainian refugees' housing predicament. James Jamieson, its chair, stated that councils, Ukrainians, and hosts required "assurance" regarding the future steps.

The Local Government Association has also expressed concern about the housing situation for Ukrainian refugees. Its chair, James Jamieson, said councils, Ukrainians, and hosts needed “certainty” about the next steps.

“There are concerns that more Ukrainian families may need to present as homeless as a result of a lack of sponsors or other options,” he said. “As the number of Ukrainians presenting as homeless continues to gradually rise alongside the cost of living crisis, support to sponsors may need to be enhanced to encourage new or existing hosts to sponsor in the longer term as inflation and energy costs increase,” he said.

Robina Qureshi, CEO of Positive Action In Housing, which has matched more than 350 Ukrainian individuals with hosts in Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland, said there were “layers upon layers of chaos” in the government hosting scheme along with a lack of strategy.

“NGOs are doing what we can base on our own expertise but we are watching a ticking timebomb,” she said.

Sara Nathan, co-founder of Refugees at Home, said the charity’s work for initial matches between Ukrainians and UK hosts would continue but it would only work on rematching requests from Ukrainian refugees with they had made an initial hosting placement. All other rematching requests are now being turned down.

In September, the charity refused 60 rematching requests. "We are worried that there does not appear to be any movement on strategy." We've found it really difficult to assist with rematching. It's just too bureaucratic, and there's no way for one local government to communicate to another about it. A policy is required to address this issue. "We can't expect local governments to do it," Nathan remarked.

"We continue to work closely with Refugees at Home and local councils to ensure families have a place to stay," a government spokeswoman said.

“We are grateful to hosts for the generosity and goodwill over the last six months – and the majority of sponsors want to continue hosting.

“For guests that do move on, we launched rematching in May which has been successful in finding families' ongoing accommodation and we are working with councils to expand this service.”