In the Weekly Support Group for Ukrainian Guests one woman came to us who had been feeling very lonely in England.  She was very homesick for Ukraine and her friends back home. She lacks communication skills and has very poor English. Before she started attending our support group for Ukrainians, she felt lonely and confused. After she started attending our support group she said: “I feel much better than I did thanks to you and the group”. 

She made friends, and the joined the group on their trip to Cambridge one weekend where they expressed having fun and being able to relax. She was afraid to travel somewhere by herself due to her language barrier and this journey allowed for her to leave the place she had been staying in since moving to England.

She is very grateful to our support group and being able to speak her native language. Our support group activities helped her deal with loneliness and stress. Very often she comes in a bad mood to our meetings, but after the conversations and exercises that we do, she leaves relaxed and happy. She says that our meetings help her feel less alone in a foreign country. She said: “I visit the PBIC support group every week; this is the best day of the week for me because I can be myself at these meetings, meet friends and feel less alone”.

by Tetiana, PBIC Support Worker