Stratford to welcome Syrian refugee families - The Stratford Observer

Stratford to welcome Syrian refugee families

Stratford Editorial 23rd Nov, 2016 Updated: 23rd Nov, 2016   0

STRATFORD is set to welcome two Syrian refugee families.

Stratford District Council has agreed 12 families will be resettled from refugee camps over the next four years under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, funded by the Home Office.

The first family will arrive next week with another the following week.

Coun Robert Vaudry, from the council’s housing spokesman said: “The rehousing of vulnerable people who have been made refugees by the conflict in Syria is a national priority.




“Stratford has been asked to play its part, together with partners and we have made a commitment to provide as much support as possible to those arriving.

“I have no doubt that they will be made to feel welcome by the wider community as they adjust to life in the UK.”


The families will live in private housing rather than council-owned homes, and funds to help the refugees with rent, integration and learning English will come from central government.

The district council has worked with Warwickshire County Council, the NHS and the local Welcome Here group to put a package together to cater for the families including housing, education, health care and emotional support.

Families will also be able to access a befriending service run by church groups and volunteers, which will give them information including places to shop and socialise and places of worship.

The district council will also be gifting them a mobile phone to allow them to keep in touch with family members and loved ones back in war-ravaged Syria.

Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi said he was delighted the families were coming to the town and that they would be warmly welcomed by the local community.

He told the Observer: “Earlier this year, I was informed that a small number of Syrian refugee families would be settling in Stratford towards the end of this year.

“That time has now come, and I am delighted to hear that they will be moving in next week.

“As a refugee myself, I know how welcoming this country is.

“This is why I am certain that the two families will have no problems in establishing Stratford as their new home.

“I wish them all the very best in their new lives here and would be pleased to meet them in the near future”.

Warwickshire is expected to become home for at least 31 Syrian refugee families by 2020.

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