Support for Ukraine Project

Introduction

24th February 2025 marked the third anniversary of the illegal invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. The Diocese immediately responded in 2022 by offering support to Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war and has been doing so since.  A scheme was set up to match potential hosts with Ukrainians to provide safe accommodation here in the UK, until it was feasible for Ukrainians to return home.

For the last three years the Diocese of Hereford, funded by Herefordshire Council and Citizens UK, and working with Herefordshire Community Network for Ukraine, including hvoss, the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), St Peter and St James’ Church, The Living Room, The Kindle Centre, The Fetch Theatre and others, have been supporting Ukrainian refugees that have come to Herefordshire, and the sponsors that have housed them.

We continue to hope and pray for peace in Ukraine, and that those who have fled war might be able to return to their friends and families to rebuild their lives. We grieve with those who have lost loved ones in the fighting.

Get in touch with us via ukraineinbox@hereford.anglican.org if you’d like any more information, or contact a member of our team using the contact information found at the bottom of the page.

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.

What can you do to help?

Hosting/Sponsoring: There is still the need for hosting, if you think you might be able to host a Ukrainian Individual or Family in your home or in an annex, please do get in touch with us using the contact details found here. Click here for a FAQ about hosting and what might be expected. If you are interested in sponsoring, then please do contact our team and we can support you and your guests on your journey.

Supporting Refugees: There are many organisations working around the county to support refugees, particularly in the market towns and city of Hereford, but even in remote rural places. If you would like to help, then we might be able to put you in touch with local agencies with whom you can volunteer, so please do get in touch.

Supporting Ukraine: There are two charities in Herefordshire who are collecting aid to send out to Ukraine itself, these are Hereford Help for Ukraine run by the Association of Ukrainian in Great Britain team, and Ukraine Freedom Company which is run by British volunteers including a number who are ex-forces. Either would be grateful of your donations and/or voluntary time as they seek to send aid deliveries out to hospitals and the front lines, to save lives.

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.

Get in Touch

Get in touch with us via ukraineinbox@hereford.anglican.org if you’d like any more information about any of the above, or contact a member of our team using the contact information below if you know to whom you’d like to specifically speak.

Wendy Coombey –Project Lead
01432 373 343 or w.coombey@hereford.anglican.org

Lesley Grady –Project Officer
01432 373 345 or lesley.grady@hereford.anglican.org

Tom Milton –Project Administrator
01432 373 322 or tom.milton@hereford.anglican.org