THE FIRST cohort of Syrian Refugee families coming to live in Worcestershire will arrive in the county at the end of June, it has been confirmed.
Redditch has been chosen to house the first three families of Syrian refugees coming to the county.
The group, comprising eight people in total, are expected to arrive towards the end of June after the county council engaged Refugee Action to deliver its ‘Refugee Integration and Independence Service’ package.
The service will support all adults, young people and children accepted by the county’s local authorities under the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement (VPR) scheme.
Work is also underway to approach private sector landlords to identify properties in Malvern and other districts to resettle further families later this year to meet the county’s commitment to resettle 50 Syrian refugees in 2016.
It is not yet been announced when a small number of the 50 refugee families will be arriving to stay in Malvern.
A spokesperson for Refugee Action said: “Refugee Action is delighted to be working with our partners to welcome Syrian refugees across the county over the coming months.
“Building on over 30 years’ experience of resettlement, our dedicated staff and volunteers look forward to working closely with our partners to ensure these individuals and families, who have faced unimaginable horrors, are enabled to rebuild their lives in dignity.”
The resettlement scheme is funded from the Foreign Aid budget with further resources invested into the local NHS and Education by the Government. These additional resources will help to ensure that any impact on services for local residents will be minimised.
