More than 1,400 families in BCP area offer Ukrainians shelter

MORE than 1,400 families in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area have offered to host families fleeing from the war in Ukraine.

Council cabinet member Cllr Karen Rampton said that the area has 180 hosts who have been matched with Ukrainian families, writes Trevor Bevins of the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

However, she added that BCP Council only knew of 25 who had arrived so far.

For the majority of the hosts most of their homes had been inspected to check they were suitable and the authority was "working through" background checks on the individuals, she explained.

“We have been overwhelmed by the support from residents who are willing to open up their homes to guests,” Cllr Rampton said.

“Once families have arrived and their immediate needs met we will work to provide wrap-around care and support to make sure their longer-term needs are met and they are linked into the services they might need.

“We look forward to more individuals and families arriving in our area in the coming weeks.”

Cllr Rampton told the full council meeting that the Ukraine flag continued to fly at the BCP civic offices and the council website had dedicated pages for guests and hosting families which are updated daily, in a variety of languages.

She said the council was making emergency payments to those who had already arrived and had developed a welcome pack with essential local information.

Work was also under way to ensure children were offered school places and families were signed up with GP and other medical support.