Cardiff Housing Association calls on housing providers to support the re-homing of refugees before bridging funding ends

A Cardiff Housing Association, that has been providing re-settlement support to refugees for the past two years, is calling on other housing providers across Wales to help in order to speed up the re-homing process.

Taff Housing, based in Canton has supported the resettlement of over 500 Afghan refugees in Wales since 2021. Now, following an extension of its existing contract, the housing association is tasked with helping the refugees currently living in bridging accommodation to find homes before facilities close.

Helen White, CEO at Taff Housing said: “Despite the UK Government announcing an investment of £35m to support local authorities to find homes for refugees, we are battling with a housing crisis in Wales. The housing shortage across the city is extremely challenging and finding suitable homes is difficult. With many bridging accommodation providers closing following the end to funding, we need to help the refugees currently living there find homes to prevent them being faced with homelessness.

“We are doing everything we can to help the Afghan refugees find suitable homes, but we need the help and support of every housing provider – from private landlords to local councils – if we are going to address this challenge as quickly as possible.”

Since 2021, Taff Housing has supported refugees by helping them to re-establish their identity, skills and aspirations for a new life in Wales. The housing association has also assisted them in accessing education and finding new career pathways, while also advising them on where to look for suitable accommodation. Through this work, Taff Housing has recruited more than 14 refugees into the role of support workers for its tenants. With a common language, shared experiences, understanding of culture and by being able to show people a reflection of themselves, they have been able to play a vital role in assisting with the settlement of other refugees.

Mirwais Roshandil is one of the refugees who was supported by Taff Housing on arrival in Wales in 2021. He lived in a hotel for six months, with his wife and three young children, before resettling into a family home in Abergavenny. Rosh previously worked at the Ministry of Defence in Afghanistan and spoke very good English, so spent his first six months in Wales supporting the other refugees coming over. Consequently, he was offered a job working for Taff as a tenant support worker.

Rosh says: “The team at Taff made us feel extremely welcome on arrival into Cardiff. They helped us to settle into the hotel and offered us an abundance of help and support in establishing a new life here in Wales. In my new role as a Tenant Support Worker, I feel like I can give back, offering the people who are now arriving from Afghanistan some support, empathy and hope for the future.”

“When you first arrive, you can feel a bit lost and experience a huge culture shock. My role is to help them readjust and offer them support setting up practical things like bank accounts, registering with a GP and schools, and signing up for financial support.”

Rosh is now making a new life for his family here in Wales, thanks to the support he received from Taff Housing.

Sarah Drury, head of support at Taff Housing added: “We can’t fix the huge loss that people have suffered being forced out of their country, but we can support them on their journey to accessing education, learning and understanding their future aspiration. We foster mutual support and a sense of community by creating opportunities for families to link together through day trips and events where those who have settled provide support to new arrivals. This is where people like Rosh play an important role in providing compassion and instilling confidence and faith.

“It can be extremely challenging to find suitable accommodation especially with demand at an all-time high. However, we work closely with housing departments across Wales and have managed to offer hundreds of families a new start.”

Taff Housing owns and manages over 1500 homes across the city, providing 4000 people with somewhere to call home.

It is also investing over £30 million in the development of 350 high-quality affordable homes. Not only are the homes helping to address the shortage of affordable homes in Cardiff, but they are also helping to regenerate derelict buildings and restore economic prosperity to areas in decline.

For more information on Taff Housing please visit www.taffhousing.co.uk