Newcastle-based charity Mental Health Concern (MHC) is to offer support for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion - along with help for employees to take in those in need.
But the charity's chief exec has also questioned the "package of support" the Government is offering, and said it's vital that the those escaping trauma and atrocities in Ukraine are not just "put in a room in a house". Instead, Adam Crampsie from the charity wants to ensure that "wraparound" support is on offer - and said MHC would be doing whatever it could to help.
He said this would include using vacant properties to directly house Ukrainian refugees, helping charity staff who may wish to help through the Government's Homes for Ukraine scheme, and offering post-traumatic psychological support to anyone who needs it and ensuring the charity's employment support services are available to help those arriving in the UK. Within a day of the Government scheme being announced, almost 90,000 people had signed up to potentially house Ukrainian refugees in the UK.
Read more: How Homes for Ukraine refugees in UK scheme works, and how to sponsor a refugee
And while Adam said the move was currently in response to the Ukrainian crisis - there will also soon be a Ukrainian language landing page on MHC's website - it had led him and his team to consider how they can do more to support refugees more generally.
Adam told ChronicleLive : "As a charity and a provider of mental health services nationally we have an opportunity to step up and offer more - the question I posed to our team was: 'what more can we do?'. There is obviously the Homes for Ukraine programme, but we all know there's not been a huge amount of detail around the package of care that might be available and what the support will look like.
"And as a charity that works to provide things like employment services, and obviously psychological health services, including for people with trauma, we are in a unique situation to help."
The charity boss also explained he was concerned that the Homes for Ukraine scheme would leave gaps in the support available to refugees. He said: "Lack of detail about the wider support gives me great concern. It's not just as simple as putting someone in a room in a house. It's not just about a bedroom. It's about education, housing and schools and it's about support for mental health".
In the immediate future, Adam said the charity's first move would be to provide financial and emotional support to its own employees should they take in Ukrainian refugees through the Government scheme, and he added that it was important for local and national government to join with community organisations to create "community networks" which would help people access accommodation and support.
MHC's sister organisation Insight IAPT offers talking therapies throughout the region and will be working to do the same with Ukrainian refugees who need that support.
Adam said: "We will start by encouraging internal colleagues who are able to help. We will also be helping with living costs - we don't want that to be a barrier to any of our people helping. We are also looking at our own housing stock. We have quite a lot of properties that we use to support people who may, for example, have severe mental illness. At any one time we have vacancies in those properties and we will be looking to use them to house people in need.
"We have seen a lot of broad promises by the Government of fiscal support to local authorities and hosts of these refugees, but money needs to be spent wisely. We are keen to work with relevant organisations so we can pool our resources and make sure that systems are set up as quickly as possible for anyone who needs mental health support during this incredibly hard time."
But Adam warned it was important not to just find accommodation for refugees and consider the job done - he added: "This is not as simple as just putting people in rooms in houses. These are refugees who've left a warzone, they may have seen atrocities. The level of trauma they have experienced needs addressing quite rapidly."
And he also spoke of how the situation in Ukraine had led to reflection at MHC's Newcastle HQ. "This situation has also caused to really ask ourselves a few questions," he said. "We are obviously responding to the crisis in Ukraine but we could be doing so much more for refugees in general. In this country I think we can be good at responding to crises but we are not so great at thinking long-term."
Other ways in which MHC plans to help include by setting up a "virtual trauma therapy group" for refugees to access, to create webpages explaining how Ukrainian refugees can access services, and "where clinically appropriate" by fast-tracking refugees into mental health treatment.
A Government spokesperson said: "We recognise the trauma faced by the people of Ukraine and continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the face of Russia’s appalling invasion. Ukrainians fleeing their home country will be guaranteed free access to NHS healthcare, including mental health care services and registration with a GP.
"Arrivals will be signposted to services including 24/7 mental health helplines available in every area, and information on accessing NHS services including talking therapies."
The Government is understood to be working across departments to "consider approaches" to mental health support for refugees and those arriving from Ukraine will be given a "welcome pack" which would help them to register with a GP and access Covid-19 vaccinations.
Ukrainians fleeing the war will also be guaranteed free access to NHS services, the Government has promised. Meanwhile in the FAQs on the Homes for Ukraine scheme's website, the Government adds: "There are other organisations who will be able to offer support on things like access to benefits, registering with a GP, school placements and more. We will also be asking local councils to provide wrap-around support for your guests and are providing new funding for councils to do so."
