Our Story

Background

The illegal invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russia in February 2022 rightly horrified individuals of all political persuasions across the world, including in the United Kingdom. Moved to support the displaced millions, some signed up to Homes for Ukraine, the Government sponsorship scheme that allows people and organisations in the UK to offer a home to Ukrainians fleeing the war. Others donated cash both to established charities, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, and also to the plethora of informal appeals that sprung up in response to the crisis.  

There were those who were nevertheless left with a feeling of inadequacy and a desire to offer more sustainable and structured support: for many of us, our relative privilege and domestic comfort argued well for sharing our homes but, for a variety of reasons, not everyone was in a position to do so. And it was most certainly homes that were needed for the estimated fourteen million people who had fled their own since the start of the war.  

Inspiration from the Syrian Refugee Crisis

In March 2022, members of the Glorious Alchemy choir started to explore the daunting realities of hosting via the Government scheme. Initial research made clear the breadth of assistance that would be needed to adequately support a Ukrainian family and Isobel started to look at alternative models for ‘wraparound care’. Inspiration came from a project based in Toronto:  back in 2016, Choir!Choir!Choir!, a mixed harmony choir run by Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman, fundraised enough money to sponsor two Syrian refugee families and bring them to Canada via the established Government scheme and the choir members provided all aspects of the material, emotional and practical support the families required.

The Currency of Life

Aspiring to emulate the Choir!Choir!Choir! social enterprise project, Isobel proposed a similar programme to the Alchemists, with the emphasis on the ‘currency of life’, that is a philosophy for living whereby equal value is assigned to time, energy and love as is accorded to hard cash, our more immediately and easily recognisable medium of exchange. Within the Glorious Alchemy choir there are those with flourishing careers, those who have retired, some have substantial financial means, others less so, some have no spare time, others are time rich, cash poor . . . we have, between us, an extraordinarily rich seam of both work-based and domestic experience from which to mine a wealth of relevant skills and talents.  

The singers were delighted to be offered the chance to extend the ethos of the choir in support of Ukrainian refugees and Isobel set about devising a scheme to marshal these currencies into an identifiable and organised resource.  

The Glorious Alchemists Create Welcome Bureau

Welcome Bureau denotes the name of the charity set up with Isobel as Chair of the Trustees and three other choir members as Trustees. The charity’s primary objective is to alleviate the financial hardship faced by those fleeing to Bristol from the war in Ukraine. It has the Glorious Alchemists at its heart, with connections to a broader network of volunteers and community partners.

Our Community Partners

The Trustees joined forces with a number of key partners:

• Stand for Ukraine, a crowdfunding project that supplies medical and humanitarian aid to deep within the war zone; their key volunteer, a British Ukrainian national, had already matched a number of Ukrainian refugees with host families via the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
• Bristol City Council refugee resettlement team.
• The Sanctuary Foundation, the UK’s leading coalition of charities and NGOs promoting refugee welfare and welcome, who provide on-line training courses.
• Bristol Grammar School, who have established a scheme whereby refugee children in Bristol may apply for a free school place and have generously provided one such place to Welcome Bureau.
• Clifton College Upper School, who have generously provided Welcome Bureau with a free school place.
• The office of Kerry McCarthy MP, who have provided invaluable assistence in expediting visa applications. 

This enabled us to:

• Identify the full spectrum of support required by families arriving in the City from a war zone, and prepare accordingly.
• Understand the financial and practical support offered to Ukrainian refugees by the UK Government, via the local Council, and identify where we needed to bridge the gaps.
• Clarify the legal protocols for Ukrainian refugees arriving on the Homes for Ukraine scheme, such as applications for National Insurance number, Biometric Residence Permit and Universal Credit.
• Assemble a team of expert volunteers organised into key roles: refugee placement, health, education, government interface, donated goods and services and finance.
• Settle the offspring of the families into education settings of the highest quality.

Our Two Ukrainian Families Arrive in Bristol 

One of our choir members offered us the use of a house that she and her husband usually rent out on the open market and we set about furnishing and equipping it with entirely donated goods.  Our refugee placement expert matched us with a family via the Homes for Ukraine scheme and we welcomed them to Bristol in early August 2022. We have supported the family in all aspects of settling into life in the City and were particularly delighted when our application to Bristol Grammar School was successful.

Based on our experience in this first year, the Welcome Bureau team embraced a second family in August 2023. Most fortunately, two founding members of the charity offered us a flat and we were able to assemble the donated goods required to furnish it from our generous supporter base. We are tremendously grateful to Clifton College Upper School, who have made a free school place available.

The Moving On Dilemma

The Welcome Bureau’s sustainable offering has provided a level of stability for our Ukrainian guests that is a rarity among their peers. Whilst the Homes for Ukraine scheme has doubtless been a lifeline for the estimated 500+ refugees to arrive in the City of Bristol (Source: Bristol City Council), the arrangement with hosts does not typically extend beyond the initial six months. At this point, families are faced with a dire choice: either try and find affordable independent housing on the open market or return to Ukraine. 

The crushing pressures in the rental housing market, coupled with the spiralling cost of living crisis are exacerbating the problem.  Even if people in this invidious position are fortunate enough to find a place to live in Bristol, they simply can’t afford the rent, and, as a result, many are returning to Ukraine, amidst an intensification of violence.  

With Russian attacks again targeting the energy infrastructure, the country faces a long and bitter winter, such that the Ukrainian government is urging the estimated 7.7 million refugees scattered across Europe not to return home, in an attempt to reduce the pressure on already over-burdened energy supplies.

Welcome Bureau Fundraising Campaign 

Welcome Bureau aims to alleviate this dreadful state of affairs by providing financial support to help with rent and living costs. Our work is funded by the proceeds from the Glorious Alchemy concerts and from donations received in response to our ongoing fundraising campaign. 

Please help us provide settled, sustainable and safe living circumstances for those fleeing Ukraine who have not only lost everything but are also separated from those they love.

If you would like to support Welcome Bureau please click here.