Room for Refugees is one of several charities linking hosts with a spare room with refugees in need of somewhere to stay
(Picture: Room for Refugees)In March, when more than a million Ukrainians had already fled from Russian invasion, Nikki Kopelman leapt at the chance to help.
At the end of April, she and her housemate were joined in their home in northwest London by a young woman from Ukraine, under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
“We’ve found it to be a very positive experience overall,” says Kopelman. “We have similar interests, such as board games and cooking, and spend most evenings eating together, watching films or playing a game. It’s nice to have someone else we can share our games with – many of them need more than two players.”
She adds: “I would recommend it, it’s very rewarding — and nice to think that we’ve been able to help someone in the way we’d hope someone would help us if we ever needed it.”
So far, almost 150,000 Ukrainian people have come to the UK under the scheme, with Google searches for “host a refugee” spiking to peak levels in March this year, and rising again since the beginning of October.
In the face of the rising cost of living and the Home Office’s divisive stance on refugees, there is a growing appetite to step in where the government will not. If you have more than you need at home here are some of the best ways to do put it to good use, at Christmas and beyond.
House a refugee
Various organisations exist to link people with spare rooms up with refugees in need of a roof over their head.
Established in 2015, Refugees at Home lets you offer your spare room to refugees and asylum seekers from a range of nationalities. All houses are visited in advance – and, once you’ve become a host, your Home Visitor will also check in and be available for support.
Through the scheme, you can offer emergency hosting (one night to a week) arranged at short notice, or longer-term placements, which are usually for a few weeks or months. Hosts can receive a £30 weekly bursary if needed.
So far, Refugees at Home has housed 3,535 guests for more than 250,000 nights. To sign up, you’ll need to complete the registration form.
Rooms for Refugees is a similar scheme run by Scottish charity Positive Action in Housing. It asks hosts to commit to a minimum of one month with a one-week trial.
There are also options for emergency hosting options and respite hosting (offering temporary accommodation to a guest if their current host needs their room back temporarily). Sign up here.
And of course there's the government-run Homes for Ukraine scheme, which launched this March. Rooms need to have a door that close and somewhere for guests to put their things – although it’s best to check your local authority website for their specific requirements.
Hosts must be British citizens (or have leave to remain) without a criminal record, and must be able to offer accommodation for a minimum of six months.
To sign up, you can register your interest on the government website, which will then be shared with your local council to match you with someone in your local area. They’ll carry out DBS checks, visit your property and issue some training and advice before approving you as a host.
Kopelman says: “You do have to remember it’s more than just offering the space in your home, you have to have the time, at least right at the start, to offer your new friend the support to set up what they need for life in the UK.”
As you would with any housemate or lodger, she suggests hosting someone with shared interests to help build a relationship.
“You should expect there to be a settling in period while you get used to each other, and remember that even if your new friends speak perfect English, there might still be cultural differences to navigate.”
House a homeless young person
Run by homelessness charity Depaul UK, Nightstop provides emergency overnight accommodation who are facing a night on the streets, or sleeping in an unsafe place.
Volunteers can offer spare rooms to people aged between 16 and 25, as well as hot meals, showers and laundry facilities.
After applying to become a host, you’ll be visited, trained and supported. You can choose how often and which evenings you’d like to host, on a flexible basis, and you’ll be reimbursed for any expenses incurred.
Currently, there are over 1,000 volunteers in the Nightstop network, who collectively offered 6,084 nights’ accommodation to 1,518 guests last year.
If you’re not able to host, you can also apply to be a driver or chaperone to help guests access their accommodation safely.
You can sign up to volunteer here.
Offer an empty property
Airbnb is calling hosts to offer their accommodation for temporary emergency stays — either for free or at a lower rate. This will support people affected by disaster, relief workers, refugees or people who are in the process of seeking asylum.
All processing fees are waived, and Airbnb fronts the operational costs. So far, they have contributed 400,000 shares.
You can also offer spare properties to Dot Dot Dot, a socially responsible property guardianship organisation. They find tenants who will commit to volunteering for a minimum of 16 hours per month in exchange for safe, affordable housing. Since 2011, it claims to have contributed the equivalent of £4.3 million to good causes.
Donate furniture to charity
If you’ve furniture to spare, consider donating it to charity rather than throwing it away or reselling.
Upholstered furniture needs to have a fire label – but cutlery, crockery, white goods, beds, sofas and mattresses are all good to donate. Just check with the charity first.
The British Heart Foundation is one of the main charities that collects furniture, claiming to prevent 25,000 tonnes of textiles and furniture going to landfill every year. You can donate straight to their shops, or arrange a free collection.
Sue Ryder, which provides palliative care to people living with terminal illnesses as well as bereavement support, is another option, alongside homelessness charity Shelter, The Salvation Army and British Red Cross.
Emmaus is staffed by homeless people and uses money raised from resold furniture and electrical items to support people out of homelessness, while Care4Calais will take donations of blankets, sleeping bags and some other items.
The Charity Retail Association website helps locate your nearest charity shops and the kind of items they accept as donations.
Local furniture organisations
Your local council’s website will usually provide a list of nearby organisations accepting furniture donations.
Established in 1990, Richmond Furniture Scheme upcycles and resells furniture donations, providing a 20% discount for people receiving income support. It estimates that around 35% of all items shipped are discounted to those in need – so far this year, 3,810 items have been shipped and more than 40 starter kits (including crockery, cutlery and food preparation items) given out.
Furnishing Futures, which furnishes the homes of domestic abuse survivors and operates in Waltham Forest, takes furniture donations from brands, designers, stylists, as well as some from members of the public. You’ll need to send photos and check first whether the item will be accepted.
Deptford Action Group for the Elderly (DAGE) helps to prevent isolation amongst older people by running a high street pop-in centre every day. It is looking for reusable furniture donations, and also encourages people who do not need their winter electricity rebate to donate it to them.
Donate the rebate
The #DonateTheRebate campaign calls on people who do not need their energy rebates to offer all —or part— of the payment to charity.
Run by the government and introduced last month, the Energy Bills Support Scheme provides a £400 non-repayable discount (paid in six monthly instalments) to all households with an electricity connection. It will operate until April 2023 and is not means-tested.
With homelessness increasing —Crisis estimates that the number of people affected will have risen by a third between 2019 and 2024— the campaign urges those who can afford it to donate their share to “help level this up”.
The campaign recommends donating to charities on the frontline of the cost of living crisis, including Turn2Us, a national charity fighting poverty; The Trussell Trust, which supports a network of foodbanks in the UK; Action for Warm Homes, working to end fuel poverty, and FareShare, which redistributes food to those who need it.
Other suggestions are the Big Issue Foundation and Citizens Advice. Fuel Bank Foundation and Christians Against Poverty (CAP UK) provide emergency top-up vouchers to people with prepayment meters, whilst local food banks are also a good option. You’ll need to donate directly to the charities, or through the #DonateTheRebate Crowdfunder.
