WHEATLEY Group has made 300 homes available to local authorities across Scotland to support Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion.
The housing, care, and property management organisation has made the offer of homes to strategic housing partners at councils in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, West Lothian, Renfrewshire, and West Dunbartonshire.
In addition, Wheatley Foundation, the group’s charitable trust, will offer six education bursaries worth £3,000 over two years to support Ukrainian students studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland from September.
Furthermore, the refugees will also get information to help them access employment, education, and volunteering, as well as making cultural and social connections and getting involved in leisure and sport.
Wheatley Group is also developing a welcome pack, which will help give the individuals access to information and advice on their rights, choices, and housing options – including tenancy agreements translated into the top five languages spoken by refugees.
The Scottish Government’s minister with special responsibility for refugees from Ukraine, Neil Gray MSP, said, “We appreciate the Wheatley Group, as Scotland biggest social landlord, making homes and support available to displaced people from Ukraine. Alongside their everyday work to support people with housing needs, they have recognised the importance of assisting national efforts to home thousands of people fleeing Ukraine.
“The Scottish Government and partners have been providing practical support to displaced people. Ensuring we have a supply of safe, secure homes in partnership with councils, housing partners and individual host volunteers is a vital part of this work, and we are grateful to everyone who is supporting this.
“We also welcome the Wheatley Group’s generous bursaries to help Ukrainian musicians to continue their studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.”
Wheatley Group chair, Jo Armstrong, said, “We want to play our part in supporting Ukrainians who are seeking sanctuary from the war and provide them with a safe place to live during this ongoing crisis.
“We will use our expertise and experience, as well as our scale and capacity, to bolster Scotland’s response to the unfolding horror of the war in Ukraine. We will ensure our tailor-made wraparound support services meet the urgent needs of refugees from Ukraine, as it has for the people and families in turmoil who’ve arrived here from other countries in recent years.”
Professor Jeffrey Sharkey, principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, added, “We’re so grateful to Wheatley Foundation for their support of young artists from Ukraine who are coming to study with us in Glasgow at Scotland’s national conservatoire. Generosity like this sends a strong signal of support for them, of the power of the arts to bring us together and of the warm welcome Glasgow offers.”
Project Scotland was present at Wheatley Group’s announcement event, with the July edition of the magazine set to feature an exclusive interview with Jo Armstrong.
