A NEWLY-founded Warwickshire-based community organisation is appealing for the help of residents in supporting Ukrainian refugees moving to the area.

Hand in Hand: Ukraine Response is working to ensure the government’s Homes for Ukraine concept is delivered on a regional level – with the non-for-profit group matching South Warwickshire based residents to incoming Ukrainian refugees.

Founders Michael Wang, Elena Ignateva and Alex Price have lived and worked in Eastern Europe, providing specialist educational support to Moldova in particular, where more than 100,000 Ukrainians have fled to following the Russian invasion.

The pair have already matched more than 20 Coventry and Warwickshire based residents and submitted over 40 visa applications on behalf of prospective arrivals.

Michael Wang said: “Although the government’s response is a start, we believe the process of getting Ukrainian refugees into UK homes needs to be much more detailed and applicable at a local level, which is the main reason why we created our project.

“We’ve seen a hugely positive response so far and are keen to meet with as many potential hosts who’ve kindly offered their properties to us as possible to ensure they’re aware of the stringent matching and safety processes in place for this initiative in Coventry and Warwickshire.

A fundraising page has been set up to help the charity maximise the local support network available to Ukrainian refugees upon their arrival, with over £1,300 secured so far.

A significant portion of the funds received are to be spent on enhancing the initial experience of Warwickshire based Ukrainians by setting up a hotline for any day-to-day questions that may be posed and signposting to relevant resources.

Donations to the Homes for Ukraine Support Coventry & Warwickshire can be made at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/homes-for-ukraine-support.