Resettlement in Moray

Would you be interested in offering supported lodgings to an young unaccompanied asylum seeker?

The Council is working to support the re-settlement of young asylum unaccompanied seekers. To assist with this we are looking for people who are willing to offer accommodation and through our Supported lodgings scheme.

You would need to have a room to offer, and be willing to offer practical and emotional support to the young person. We will only have very limited knowledge of the individual and their reasons for coming to the UK. It is also likely that at the start of the placement you will need to be able to work through interpretation services to support communication.

We expect that the individual will be between 16 and 18 years of age.

We will undertake checks, references and an assessment of you and your accommodation and provide ongoing training and support to you and the young person. You will receive a payment and the placement could be expected to last from 6 months to 2 years depending on the needs of the young person.

The Council also operates supported lodgings for young people that have been in Foster or residential care, we would also welcome interest in providing accommodation for these young people.

If you are interested to find out more please contact Ruth Jeffries 07890 275518 or DutyPlacementServices@moray.gov.uk

Supporting Ukrainian refugees in Moray

As the war in Ukraine continues and the humanitarian crisis deepens, more refugees from the country will arrive in the UK.

Providing accommodation

If you’d like to help by offering accommodation to a Ukrainian refugee, or a family, you can note your interest via the UK Government’s Homes for Ukraine website.

It may be that you can offer a spare bedroom in your home, or you are a landlord with an empty property that could be used.

All sponsors will need to go through disclosure checks. The fee for these has been waived and a specialist team has been created in Disclosure Scotland to deal with the checks for sponsors with confirmed matches.

For any questions about Homes for Ukraine in Moray, please contact refugeeresettlementteam@moray.gov.uk.

If you’re a tenant living in a Moray home and you are interested in housing a refugee, please contact your landlord to get permission before you register your interest on the UK Government website.

You can also offer a room in your home to a refugee by registering at the Room for Refugees charity.

The Scottish Refugee Council is pulling together information for people in Scotland affected by the crisis in Ukraine and the No Accommodation Network has produced a guide on good practice for those interested in becoming host families.

Afghanistan ARAP Programme

September 2021, Moray Council agreed to take part in Nationwide efforts to resettle families from Afghanistan, joining most other local authorities in Scotland and the UK.

Moray Council has currently committed to take part in the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme, launched on 1st April 2021. The scheme resettles former locally employed staff and their immediate family who are assessed to be under serious threat to life.

The Role of Moray’s Resettlement Team

The Resettlement Team in Moray will be employed by Moray Council with funding provided by the Home Office.

Once families are matched to a pledge made by Moray Council, the resettlement team will work with other departments such as housing, social work, health and education to prepare for arrivals.

Preparation for families arriving in Moray includes:

Preparing a home with basic essential items, funded by the home office
Arranging registration and appointments for health assessments
Enrolment in school for children, and ESOL classes for adults where required
Support with employability
Community integration plans created to ensure families have a warm welcome into Moray

Ongoing support will be provided for families, with an exit strategy in place to ensure intensive support can be reduced as families settle into their lives as New Scots.

Ongoing support remains available to ensure the necessary mainstream supports are in place if required, funded by the home office for 3 years.

The resettlement team can be contacted on: refugeeresettlementteam@moray.gov.uk

How can I donate items to a family?

Homes will be furnished with essential items prior to a family arriving, funded by the Home Office. Moray Council has not yet confirmed the details of families arriving in Moray, therefore we are unable to advise of the need for additional items such as clothing or children’s toys at this time, these items would usually be sourced once a family has arrived and their needs have been assessed.

The British Red Cross support refugees in the UK and around the world, anybody wishing to donate items immediately to benefit refugees may wish to donate to this charity.

How can I offer a room or a house to support a family?

It’s important that families arriving have access to their own tenancy, allowing them to feel safe, secure and settled. If you have a room you would like to offer a refugee you can register this with the Scottish Community hosting Charity Rooms for Refugees: https://www.roomforrefugees.com/

How can I donate my time to support a family?

Once families arrive in Moray integration into the community is vital for their wellbeing and happiness, as it is for everyone. At present we do not have opportunities to volunteer with families arriving from Afghanistan, the details of any future need for volunteers will be provided once the needs of families arriving have been assessed.

Meantime, there are always volunteering opportunities available for anyone wishing to donate their time to support members of the community in Moray. Further details can be found here: http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_59921.html

If you have any further enquires please contact our resettlement team at refugeeresettlementteam@moray.gov.uk

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