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Overcoming challenges experienced by hosts and guests in the Homes for Ukraine scheme, Scotland.

Year: 2026
Type: report
Abstract: The establishment of the Homes for Ukraine visa pathway, and subsequent Scottish Super Sponsor Scheme, saw UK governments invite the public to actively provide support and shelter in response to an international humanitarian crisis. While schemes such as the Community Sponsorship Scheme already existed in the UK, the scale at which Scottish residents (and others around the UK) provided shelter in first and second homes was unprecedented. There was no blueprint for how a hosting service should look nor an understanding of what works when matching hosts with guests and supporting them to develop and sustain healthy relationships. Over the past four years, much has been learnt about the experience of hosting and being hosted and the challenges that can emerge within hosting arrangements. In 2025, funding was awarded by Robert Gordon University to translate existing accumulated knowledge into impact. The aims of the project were to: 1) Identify tangible, practical outputs that could be used both for current and future hosting services to support hosts, guests and professionals working with them; 2) Compile "lessons learned" that can inform future responses by communities, service providers and governments to refugee crises; 3) Harness the contribution being made by volunteer hosts around the country and understand the value of this unique scheme. Through a series of participatory workshops, hosts and guests were invited to consider specific challenges that had been uncovered in earlier research and reflect on what had and had not worked in their own experiences in relation to these challenges.
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7160010026
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