Bohdan Horobets is a Ukrainian refugee who has found solace at Mustard Tree in Manchester
17:32, 19 Dec 2025Updated 18:12, 19 Dec 2025
Bohdan has shared his story with the Manchester Evening News(Image: M.E.N)
Bohdan Horobets moved to Manchester in 2024 after leaving war-torn Ukraine. Born in Kyiv, the now 26-year-old was forced to start from scratch in a new country, with no friends or family. Mustard Tree has been his saviour.
Upon reaching the UK at the start of last year, artist Bohdan struggled with several house moves and coping with being away from his friends, family and everything he had always known. But then he was signposted towards Mustard Tree.
Mustard Tree is a homelessness and poverty charity which works throughout the year to help people to find settled homes and improve their overall wellbeing. While Mustard Tree has a huge demand all throughout the year, Christmas is a particularly tough time for those living in poverty. This year, the Manchester Evening News is asking for your help in supporting such a vital lifeline of a charity.
We have set up a dedicated Go Fund Me to help raise money for Mustard Tree in the run up to Christmas. Any donations, no matter how small, will help the wonderful charity to continue its vital work and help more people across Greater Manchester.
Bohdan has taken part in Mustard Tree’s art sessions since spring 2024(Image: Mustard Tree / Dariia Zhdanova)
“I came to UK in 2024 at the start of the year,” Bohdan told the M.E.N. “Obviously the move was challenging for me – especially having to get used to a new system, culture and language. And I am autistic and have ADHD, so it was quite a challenge. I moved completely on my own. I didn’t have any support system. So it was a very hard time for my mental health.”
Now living in Salford, Manchester, Bodhan said: “I came into Mustard Tree at the start of summer or end of spring, I heard they had drop-ins for art club, myself being an artist I immediately thought it would be a good idea for myself to try and connect with that. And that’s how I ended up going there for almost two years.
“I’ve been to every Mustard tree possible, bonded and connected with a lot of people and I feel like I am a part of a safe family now. From my long-term experience as someone who struggled at the beginning, I can share this feeling of belonging and connection and family with other people.”
Bohdan has a wide range of work experience from his life in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he has worked as a project manager, grant manager, has excellent technical skills and has also worked with charities in the past too.
He recently won an award called Brilliant Beyond Labels at Get Salford Learning Adult Awards 2025 after he mastered web development and game design through a series of intensive courses. Describing Bohdan’s win, Salford City Council wrote: “His technical skills and creative thinking shone during a hackathon, where he led his team to victory. Beyond coding, Bohdan has grown into a confident collaborator and mentor, proving that neurodiversity is a strength and not a barrier.”
Mustard Tree became a safe space for Bohdan, at a time he needed it most(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
As well as providing Bohdan with a much-needed safe space with their weekly art sessions, Mustard Tree also supported him by helping to furnish his current home with their furniture package. He has also joined in at the job clubs, and plans to get more support in finding employment.
“Art club became a chosen family for me,” Bohdan shared. “It really helps a lot for me and I see how it helps a lot of other people. I see the same faces for two years now and if there was no funding we would lose all of this.
“Mustard Tree is bigger than a charity. It feels like a second home to me.”
Across all three sites – Eccles, Little Hulton and Ancoats – Mustard Tree offers food discount schemes, a welcoming and affordable café where people can get a much-needed break from the cold, and a community store offering discounted furniture, white goods, electricals and clothing.
All three sites run a ‘Food Club’, a discounted grocery scheme. Depending on circumstances, people are either asked to offer £3 in exchange for ten items, or are issued credit and can have the items for free. Although Mustard Tree receives some food donations, 90 per cent of this food has to be bought themselves. And they can’t do this vital work without funding.
If you can donate anything, no matter how small, it can make a huge difference for Mustard Tree.