Progress Update on the Resettlement Plan

Hello Everyone, I do hope you are all keeping well. I feel that for all of us our experience in this season will be different. For some it will be a good time, with little pressure and plenty to do; but for others it will be a time of concern and stress, and maybe loss and grief. 

I feel very privileged to live in such a caring community where people keep in touch and are so ready to offer help.

As far as Croeso Llantwit is concerned life is on hold. Before Christmas we had a visit from 2 people who work for the Home Office. They were delightful. It is very clear that people working in departments concerned with community resettlement are all passionate about what they are doing and why. They stressed that they are there to help us make this happen. Having had the meeting we sent our resettlement plan in for approval, and received it just before Christmas. This meant we could now seriously look for a house to rent, which we started doing. The estate agents assured us that there would be more on the market after Christmas as it always picks up in the new year. Nobody had passed that fact on to 2020! There was very little on the market. And then along came Covid 19 and everything ground to a halt.

So, we are waiting, along with the rest of the world to see how this all works out. As soon as the Home Office give the go ahead we will work hard to find a house. We then have to complete the final part of the resettlement plan and submit it for final acceptance. Then, after a visit from environmental health, we will be offered a family. Following our acceptance there will be a space of 6-8 weeks before the family arrives. This will give us time to make sure the house is well equipped and that we have everything organised for their arrival.

The initial welcome will be gently low key; but we are hoping that we will be able to hold a celebratory gathering soon after their arrival to welcome them into the community, but we will need to be sensitive to their feelings at this time.

I am greatly looking forward to that time when I can tell you it is all happening and the family are coming but in the meantime take good care of yourselves and stay safe.

To all of you who are working and/or volunteering to help others, thank you so much, we are very grateful.

With my very best wishes

Dru