Colman Noctor: Welcoming Ukrainian families with a smile, not a therapy session

The Ukrainian families who are arriving in our communities need simple acts of kindness, not trauma counselling  

Picture: iStock 

With hundreds of Ukrainian people, mainly women and children, arriving in Ireland every day, we need to be aware of what we can do as a society to help. More than 500 State-owned properties have been identified to potentially house refugees. According to Integration Minister Roderic O'Gorman, speaking on RTÉ radio last week, a further 4,500 people from Ukraine are being accommodated in hotels. 

These refugees will almost certainly have emotional and psychological needs too. Many will arrive with some degree of trauma due to what they have witnessed in their home country. Having to leave their homes under such abrupt circumstances will be traumatic in itself.