About Our Work
Hereford Diocese has now finished its third year of work supporting Ukrainian refugees, the last two of which have been funded by Herefordshire Council. We are hugely grateful to have been given another year of funding to continue our work.
We are so grateful to all of the sponsors who offered to let Ukrainian individuals and families into their homes. Letting someone else from another culture into your home (or even into your annex) is a huge sacrifice of space, time, energy and emotion.
Our team of staff and volunteers have been very active over the last three years, matching refugees with sponsors, supporting their arrival in the UK, helping with paperwork, helping access English classes, schools and NHS services and supporting refugees into longer term accommodation. We have seen firsthand how lives and homes have been torn apart by this war, and we have tried our best to help people make the most of being able to live safely in the UK.
See below a video about our work, featuring our Project Lead, Wendy Coombey, and Project Officer, Lesley Grady.
Spiritual Support
Since the start of the war, we have recognised the significance of what was taking place in Ukraine. Please see below a weekly message from Bishop Richard recorded at the start of the war in 2022.
Working with our churches around the county we have been able to offer not just practical support, but also prayerful and spiritual support. Please see below a video about the work in one of these locations, St Peter’s Church in Hereford. Here the clergy team and volunteers have been able to welcome Ukrainian refugees into worship, and also to study the Bible and pray with them.
We continue to pray for Ukraine, click here for resources to help you.
The Wider Network
There is a wide network of organisations who we are partnered with in this work. Click on the names below to find the latest information on their work. You can see what is going on and read the latest Herefordshire network newsletter here.