Hosting in Your Home

This video is developed by The Open Community in Ireland, for people who are preparing to host Ukrainian refugees in their home. Below is a written summary of the video.

You can watch their full training course here.

(You will need to set up an account, but all their resources are free to watch).

Setting Boundaries

Whether you are volunteering with newcomers, or hosting someone in your home, it is important to think carefully about what your personal boundaries are. Everyone’s personal boundaries will be different, but these are some examples:

It’s important to ensure you have enough energy internally before you can give to others - this is crucial for a healthy and sustainable relationship. Make sure you ringfence time for yourself, and time with just your family. Your guests will also need time alone too. 

Writing a Host Agreement



The Open Community advise hosts and guests to identify “hot spots” where boundaries could be crossed or cause conflict. Then, just as was suggested in the previous module, to decide your boundaries together and draw up an agreement. You can use the template below. Your guest will have a lot to take in when they first arrive, so it could be helpful to do this over a couple of meetings. 

Don’t be afraid to articulate your needs while showing that you are eager to support their needs. For example:

“We want you to have time and space in the bathroom, so we have emptied these draws for you to use. Our children need to use it to get ready for school in the morning, so can we use it from 7 – 7.45am, would you be happy to use it before and after that?

“We want you to be able to invite friends over. Could you please let us know in advance, so that we can give you space in the living room? We have our family over every Thursday, so we will need the living room during that time. We’ll let you know in advance if we have guests coming over”.

The Open Community also recommend having an informal but planned regular house meeting, to share what is working well and any challenges that are coming up. Creating space regularly is an investment, that ensures you address things before they become an issue. 

Download

 Community Hosting_Home Sharing Agreement - The Open Community.docx