Stratford Quakers house Ukrainian refugees
'The Meeting house has also been hosting twice-weekly drop-ins for local refugees.'
Quakers in Stratford-upon-Avon have welcomed a Ukrainian family to the warden’s flat at their Meeting house. The accommodation became vacant in April following the death of the warden. The family – husband, wife and teenage son – arrived in mid-July through the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
The Meeting house has also been hosting twice-weekly drop-ins for local refugees, which are organised by local refugee support group Welcome Here.
Quaker Roger Matthews, who is actively involved with Welcome Here, told the Friend that the drop-ins, which are open to refugees and their hosts, enable those from Ukraine to link-up to share advice and experience. The Meeting house is also storing donations of clothes, toys and toiletries.
He said: ‘Quakers in Stratford have been a great source of support for the work of Welcome Here with refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and now Ukraine – both through making the Meeting house freely available for activities as well as through the work of individual Friends.’
Stratford Quakers helped set up Welcome Here in 2016 when refugees from Syria arrived in the town. The Meeting house has been extensively used by Welcome Here over the following six years for meetings, welcome parties for newly-arrived refugees, and now the drop-ins.
