Homes for Ukraine: The foster families who have taken in refugees


The government’s “Homes for Ukraine” scheme will see people in the UK hosting refugees in their homes for a minimum of six months. But while welcoming the move, some of those who have provided a home to refugees in the past are concerned about whether those arriving will get the support they need.

 

Fostering refugees has changed Philip Horner’s life for the better, he says.

The 58-year-old lives in Brightlingsea in Essex and works part-time as the operations manager for Refugee Action Colchester.

 

In February 2021, Mr Horner and his partner fostered a 15-year-old Afghan boy and last month he took in another 16-year-old Afghan boy who was a friend of the first child.

“We knew they got on well,” he says. “It was always a concern whether living together would cause extra frictions but actually they have rediscovered a childhood that they’d lost.

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