What St Helens Borough Council is doing to help
Sponsor checks
We are required to visit all sponsors to ensure that the accommodation and sponsor are suitable.
Payments
We also manage two payments:
- £200 to guests on arrival to cover any emergency needs they might have
- an optional £350 thank you payment to sponsors
Access to public services
We are also responsible for providing access to public services including applying for school places.
We provide advice and referrals to specialist public health services as appropriate, for example:
We support with accessing local Jobcentre Plus appointments for benefit assessments and job-seeking.
We will also provide homelessness assistance in the case where the sponsor-guest relationship breaks down and the guest is homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Feeling welcome in the community
We have produced a welcome to St Helens leaflet in English and Ukrainian, which has more information on how to live in the borough.
We are also discussing with local voluntary groups what specific support and engagement opportunities there might be.
Contact us
If you have any questions about this scheme and need to contact the council, you can contact us online or call 01744 676789.