Families in a Nottinghamshire village have shared their anger at delays in the government's scheme to house Ukrainian refugees in the UK. Households in Burton Joyce have criticised the slow processing of the Government's Homes for Ukraine scheme, with refugees "on the the brink of survival" waiting for answers.
Nataly Stevens, 49, moved to Burton Joyce from Ukraine in 1999 and recently received two visas for her mum and brother who had been forced to leave Russian occupied Kherson. She has also been helping households in Burton Joyce undertake the process to host refugees. But she says her 'heartbreaking' wait for two sponsored visas for Olena Amirchanova and her daughter Yeva from Mukolaiv, Southern Ukraine, which she applied for on March 27, is mirrored by other families in the village who want to offer safe haven to fleeing refugees.
"We formed a group in Burton Joyce in collaboration with Nottinghamshire Council, a group of people who wanted to house refugees from Ukraine," she said. "I believe I was the first person to invite two Ukrainian people, and we applied on March 27, shortly after it [Homes for Ukraine] and we have been waiting ever since.
