A Tipperary woman is urging caution when taking in Ukrainian refugees after one experience left her scarred.
‘Helen’ connected with a woman who had a 7-year-old daughter online and offered her a place to stay on her arrival from Ukraine in her house in Tipperary.
Within days, the woman was going on multiple dates and strange cars were pulling up at the local woman’s home leaving her uneasy and uncomfortable.
This woman and her daughter have since left and are in emergency accommodation and ‘Helen’ is advising anyone considering offering their home to do it through the official agencies.
Speaking to Tipp Today, she described having to confront her guest about her actions:
“She didn’t get much of an option I told her that she had to pack her things and go, and I explained that really meeting them at my gate and giving them my address was nearly as bad and really there was no place for that in my house. The attitude was quite shocking, I mean she saw no problem with it.”
Because the people who stayed with the woman entered the country privately, it was more challenging for her to source emergency accommodation and support, eventually doing so through her own contact.
So, her advice is to make sure you don’t get stuck with someone in your home because you chose not to go through the Red Cross or the official processes.
