Get Paid To House Refugees (And Help The Needy)
Would you like to house a refugee? What if you get paid to house refugees? Would you do it then?
With war and crises happening in so many places around the world, millions of people are leaving their home countries and seeking refuge in other countries.
This makes me so sad. A safe home is one of the most basic needs a human being can have, and these people need to make difficult journeys in search of one, it just breaks my heart.
People arriving in another country need a place to stay.
Governments in countries inundated with refugees find it a challenge to find enough housing for all these people.
Sometimes, they turn to generous citizens who are willing to house or host refugees in their own homes.
Having an extra person (or four) living in your house is sure to drive up your bills. Food, utilities, everything is going to cost more.
What if the government paid you to house a refugee? Would you be willing to do it then?
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Can I Get Paid To House Refugees Near Me?
If you were wondering if you can get paid to house refugees near you, you can’t. Well, not in the USA.
Unfortunately, there is no ‘get paid to house refugees’ scheme in the USA yet.
Eric Adams, the New York City Mayor, suggested a ‘get paid to house refugees NYC’ scheme in June 2023. But so far, there has been no sign that the scheme is taking flight.
He suggested it as a way of helping residents who are facing financial challenges who also have spare rooms available.
The city would pay these residents to house refugees in their spare rooms. This sounds like a great idea for those interested. Hopefully, he will get this idea on track soon.
Read on to find out what else you can do to help in the USA, and in which countries you can get paid to house refugees.
Who Is A Refugee?
UNHCR defines a refugee as ‘someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence.’
The number of refugees worldwide has been increasing tremendously in the past decade. Currently, there are more than 30 million refugees worldwide!
Almost half of them come from just three countries: Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.
So what happens to these refugees once they are in a host country?
What Happens When Refugees Arrive In The Country?
When refugees arrive in the USA, they are met at the airport by a staff from a resettlement agency or a private sponsor.
Resettlement agencies are non-governmental organizations that provide services to refugees for up to 3 months of their arrival.
The services provided by the resettlement agencies include finding and preparing refugee housing, enrolling kids in school, assistance with finding employment, and medical issues.
The government provides a one-time limited fund for each refugee, which can be used to pay rent, buy food, clothing, and furnishings.
Most times, this fund needs to be supplemented with donations.
The Welcome Corps is a new program launched by the US Department of Health to empower the American people to sponsor and assist refugees upon arrival to the country.
By signing up to the Welcome Corps, you can create a group of 5 or more members who assist with a refugee’s arrival.
Basically, this group of citizens will do the job of the resettlement agency.
They will find and prepare refugee housing, welcome the refugees at the airport, enroll the children in school, and assist with finding employment.
The private sponsors also need to raise funds equivalent to what the resettlement agencies receive for each refugee, which is about USD $2425.
Many refugees may already have family or friends in the country, and if that is the case, they will be met at the airport by their family or friends.
If you wondered do refugees get free housing, they don’t.
Resettlement agencies and private sponsors only provide monetary assistance for up to 3 months after a refugee’s arrival.
Obviously, as private sponsors, they may choose to assist for longer periods, but their main commitment has to be for three months.
After three months, the Department of Health and Human Services may provide monetary and medical assistance for up to 12 months, but only to eligible refugees.
In some states, instead of refugee apartments, refugees stay at temporary shelters like hotels or places of worship.
Which Countries Pay To House Refugees?
Ok, so the USA does not pay you to house refugees. Which other countries do?
1. Ireland
There are currently 104,000 Ukrainian refugees registered in Ireland. Refugee reception centers and temporary accommodation facilities are full.
With the government unable to provide accommodation to so many refugees, they have turned to the Irish people for help.
A get paid to house refugees Ireland scheme has been created. This is known as the Offer A Home scheme.
The Irish government is offering a tax-free payment of 800 euros per month to anyone offering accommodation to Ukrainian refugees.
If you have a vacant, stand-alone property such as houses, apartments, or holiday homes, you can offer them to refugees.
A stand-alone property is one where you have all the amenities of an apartment without sharing with the homeowner.
If you have any such property, you can offer the property via the website.
Alternatively, you can contact the local authority where your property is located and discuss it with them.
The local authorities will contact you regarding your property and explain the entire process to you.
They will also make an appointment to assess your property to determine whether it is suitable for refugee housing.
As it is a stand-alone property, you can ask your guests to pay or contribute to the utility bills.
The payment of 800 euros is conditional on your offering the accommodation for a minimum of 6 months.
To receive the Accommodation Recognition Payment, you will need to apply online.
If you have already been offering accommodation to a Ukrainian refugee family through private arrangements or through the Irish Red Cross, you can also apply to receive the Accommodation Recognition Payment.
The ARP used to be 400 euros until November 2022, so if you hosted someone before this time, you would only receive 400 euros and not 800 euros.
If you do not have a stand-alone property to offer and you’re wondering, ‘How do I offer accommodation to refugees?’, there are other ways to help.
If you have a spare room in your house, you can pledge your accommodation for refugees via the Irish Red Cross Register of Pledges.
For spare rooms, you are expected to allow access to cooking facilities and have a shared or private bathroom.
The payment of 800 euros, however, does not apply to shared rooms. This only applies to stand-alone properties.
When you pledge a spare room, the beneficiary may be a Ukrainian or someone from other conflict zones such as Syria or Afghanistan.
2. United Kingdom
The UK government launched a Homes for Ukraine scheme, where you can host a home for Ukrainians fleeing their country.
Under this scheme, if you host a Ukrainian person or family in your home, you can get paid!
The UK government pays you GBP 350 a month for the first 12 months. After that, you get paid GBP 500 per month for the rest of their Homes for Ukraine visa.
If you are interested in joining this scheme and hosting a Ukraining refugee, you can register your interest at the Home Office website.
Sadly, that’s the only scheme where you get paid to house refugees in the United Kingdom. You cannot get paid to house a refugee from any other country, only those from Ukraine.
However, if you are keen on providing free board to refugees from elsewhere, there are several organizations that can help.
Refugees at Home and Room for Refugees are two wonderful organizations that help refugees to find a home.
These organizations connect homeowners who have a spare room with refugees who need a place to stay.
If you are living in the UK and would like to host a refugee in your home, you can sign up to be a host.
As a host, you provide them with a safe space to stay in. You are not expected to do anything else. Most hosts do get to know their guests, and share meals with them.
Room for Refugees is now also arranging placements in the USA. If you live in either Chicago or Los Angeles, and are interested in hosting a refugee, contact them and they’ll be able to help you.
If you are more interested in these refugee housing programs, do check out their Frequently Asked Questions.
3. Poland
Poland, located on the western border of Ukraine, is one of the top countries that has taken in Ukrainian refugees.
Poland has taken in about 22% of Ukrainian refugees, and more are still coming in.
Many Polish residents have opened up their homes and hearts to the Ukrainian refugees by housing them in their homes.
From March 2022, the Polish government has decided to pay 40 zlotys (around 9 USD) to people sheltering refugees in their homes.
It is 40 zlotys per person, so if you are housing more than one person, you will get more than 40 zlotys.
This is provided you provide the refugees with free accommodation and food. It is also only for 120 days after the refugee’s arrival in Poland.
You don’t have to be a Polish citizen to receive this financial assistance. If you are a Ukrainian who arrived before the war, you can also receive the 40 zlotys if you house other refugees.
This is usually a backdated payment. To apply for the payment, fill out the application forms online and submit it to your local city or commune council.
Once you’ve completed your application, the local authorities will inspect your accommodation to determine whether it’s suitable for living.
If you and your accommodation meet all the criteria, you will be paid the money.
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Other Ways To Host Refugees
If you do not want to host or house a refugee in your home, there are other ways of helping them with accommodation.
1. Rent To Refugees
Refugees receive monetary assistance from the government or private sponsors for three months after their arrival. After that, they are usually able to find employment.
Therefore, if you want to rent to refugees, you do not have to worry about not receiving your rentals on time.
Since renting to refugees happens mostly through resettlement agencies, you do not have the hassle of finding a suitable tenant for your home. The resettlement agency will handle that for you.
Here are some of the organizations in the USA that you can contact if you would like to rent your apartment to refugees:
If you live in the UK and would like to rent to a refugee, you can contact these organizations:
2. Airbnb
Do you have properties that you list on Airbnb? Would you like to use these properties to help a refugee family instead?
If you would like to host a refugee family in your Airbnb property, you can register to host a refugee.
All you will have to provide are a comfortable bed and basic amenities.
Since Airbnb provides hosts with AirCover, you do not have to worry about any damages that may happen to your property.
Aircover provides 1 Million USD in liability insurance and 3 million USD in damage protection. That’s a great deal, and it’s completely free for hosts!
Note that you will not be paid to host a refugee family on your Airbnb.
FAQs on Get Paid To House Refugees
Do You Get Paid To House Refugees In U.S.A?
If you are wondering if you get paid to house refugees in the US, unfortunately you do not. If you live in the USA and would like to house a refugee in your home, you can do so.
But you are not paid by the government, the resettlement agency, or refugee housing association.
Which Countries Pay To House Refugees?
If you are wondering which countries pay to house refugees, these 3 European countries do so:
- Ireland
- United Kingdom
- Poland
How Can I Offer Accommodation For Refugees?
If you are wondering how to offer accommodation for refugees, there are plenty of ways to do it.
You can host a refugee in a spare room in your house or host refugees in your stand-alone or Airbnb properties.
Alternatively, you can also rent your apartment or house to a refugee.
How Else Can I Help Refugees?
If you would like to find out how else you can help refugees arriving into the country, The Welcome Corps is a great place to get started.
When you join the Welcome Corps, you can create a group of 5 with other members and help to sponsor and assist refugees arriving into the country.
You basically do the job of the resettlement agency.
You will find and prepare refugee housing, welcome the refugees at the airport, enroll the children in school, and assist with finding employment.
Well, there you have it. Everything you need to know about getting paid to house refugees.
If you have a spare room or spare property, do consider hosting or renting to a refugee. It would be a great help to them.
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