The charity sector is prepared, ready and waiting to welcome and support children from Ukraine however, the UK Government’s slow pace of issuing visas means that thousands of children are forced to wait weeks and months to enter the UK and receive support, according to new research.
New research published by The Childhood Trust documents the preparedness of the charity sector to receive and support children from Ukraine, and highlights the critical role played by these charities in meeting the needs of refugee children and young people. London is expecting to receive up to half the total number of refugees from Ukraine coming to the UK.
The research surveyed 21 children’s charities that currently support a total of 34,765 children, of which 2,127 are refugees. Of the organisations that offer support to displaced children, on average 18% of their beneficiaries are refugees. These charities care for children from 28 different states, reflecting the current global socio-political climate, with just over half of all supported children originating from Afghanistan, with a high proportion of children from Eritrea, Syria, Ethiopa, Somalia, Iran and Iraq also finding sanctuary
The study also found that 53% of the charities surveyed have been engaging with refugee beneficiaries for over a year and 26% for more than 3 years (with less than 6% supporting for 3 months or less). The demonstrated importance of long-term, continued support for refugee children throws into the question the governments short-term approach to the issue, for example guaranteeing just 6 months of housing for Ukrainian refugee families.
Laurence Guinness, Chief Executive of The Childhood Trust said: “The Government's failure to admit refugee children and their families quickly enough is shameful. Our charitable projects are ready and waiting to support vulnerable and traumatised children from Ukraine but are hugely frustrated by the shambolic response from Government that appears to be actively denying Ukrainian children the sanctuary they desperately need. London has always provided a safe and welcoming place to children fleeing war and we are gravely concerned that this Government seems unable to match its rhetoric with action.”
The reality faced by refugee children arriving in the UK is that their needs are often complex and difficult to overcome, yet the only support they can reliably access is that provided by charities. The research reveals the greatest challenges facing refugee children are (listed in order of severity) poverty followed by housing, mental health, language barriers and education.
Once refugee status has been acquired, asylum seekers have just 28 days to find a new home, employment, or set up a Universal Credit claim.
Yeabsira, 17, a child refugee from Ethiopia said: “The government needs to help refugees correctly. They tell the media about what they are doing but it’s not all true. They are making it difficult for us. I want to help Ukrainians to be free and I want people to know that we refugees don’t hate our countries. We have been forced to leave our homes due to war & political instability. We want our human rights. We want to be happy and safe. The UK government needs to listen, wake up and act appropriately”.
The Childhood Trust’s report highlights the extensive preparations and planning currently being undertaken by charities to support Ukrainian children, with 80% of the charities in the study expecting to provide support and 60% having already made plans.
With children’s charities already stretched by a growing child poverty crisis, all of the charities surveyed state that they will require extra funding in order to meet the needs of Ukrainian refugees. Charities anticipate that corporate philanthropy will provide more funding than the UK government - 8.5% of funding required is anticipated to come from corporate's versus 7.5% from the UK Government.
