Speech by Cllr Gregor Murray, Executive Member for Communications, Resident Services and Emissions, at the Council meeting on 25 March.:
“We learned during the Covid pandemic that a single voice, a clear message, and the co-ordinated use of all the media channels available to us were essential to ensure our community knew what to do, when to do it and, most importantly, where to find help if it was required.
As it was with the Covid pandemic, so it will be as our community welcomes Ukrainian refugees to our homes, our streets and to our towns.
I would like to highlight three specific aspects of the extensive communication plan that will be put in place in the coming days.
Firstly, for the Ukrainians coming to our borough there is already a welcome sheet in Ukrainian with essential information such about how to access health services, school places, childcare and trauma support as well as what to do in emergencies. This will help early arrivals through their first days here. We are rapidly pulling together a more detailed welcome pack that will also signpost to more services such as financial aid, work opportunities, childcare support and donations of clothing, food, technology, children’s toys and other essentials. There will be direct access information for charities, religious support and for local Ukrainian community groups, along with details on how to access the support offered by the likes of Oxfordshire Mind and the Traumatic Stress Service, to help or new neighbours deal with the impact of the last few months of their lives.
Information will also be provided signposting how to access WBC services and living support should their accommodation arrangements prove to be unsuitable for the needs of their lives.
Secondly, for the families who welcome refugees into their homes, there will be communication relating to how they can best support their Ukrainian guests.
All host families will be assigned a borough council support worker who will be their point of contact for advice and help.
We are also setting up a secure, data protection-complaint e-newsletter for host families so we can develop a strong support network and flow of information for them.
WBC is already conducting home suitability assessments on sponsor homes and will also be providing information relating to government support, additional financial support that may become available, translation services and how households can help their Ukrainian family to get the help that they need.
The final area I would like to highlight is that WBC will, once again, be acting as the ‘one voice’ both to our residents and to all our partners and local charitable organisations, coordinating support and donations, and directing help and resources where they will add the most benefit.
Conversations and briefings with voluntary sector partners are well advanced and, as the number of refugees coming to Wokingham Borough begins to become apparent over the coming weeks other partners, including members, can expect additional information on what is being done, what needs to be done and what additional support is required. We are also compiling a Frequently Asked Question and answer sheet, which will be distributed to ensure that all members and partners are offering the right advice to those who ask. We will provide an update twice a week to all members and the regularity of this will be reviewed.
With many local charities already overwhelmed with donations, we are recommending residents who want to help should donate money to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukrainian Appeal, which can be found at www.dec.org.uk.
As refugees start to arrive in larger numbers, there may be need for specific donations to local charities, and these will be promoted and publicised by WBC using all the media channels available to use. Residents should go to the Wokingham Borough Connect website to sign up for the mailing list in order to receive direct information of any additional help, support and donations needed, along with where it can be provided.
We welcome Ukrainians with open arms into our community and into our homes. We will also not forget that there are many Russians and Belarussians living in our borough. We are a multi-cultural community and all are welcome here.
We will be reviewing our communications plan regularly to ensure it is available, accessible, and supportive of all within our community. If anyone has any questions or suggestions, I would ask that they are directed to me, and I will then pass them through the communications team for inclusion on the FAQ sheet.”
