Get Help
JRS UK supports destitute asylum seekers across Greater London, and people in immigration detention at Heathrow.
JRS UK provides services for destitute asylum seekers who are ‘Appeals Rights Exhausted’ and who are not eligible for, and do not receive asylum support, Section 4 support, or assistance from social services.
We welcome all nationalities, people of any faith and those who have no faith; there is no proselytising.
To register, please phone 020 7488 7310 Monday to Friday between 10am – 5pm.
If we cannot take your call, please leave a message with your name and your phone number and we will call you back as soon as we can.
A member of the JRS team will contact you and check that you meet the criteria for our support, and discuss whether it is what you want. We will ask for some basic details and ask you to send us some evidence that you are an appeal rights exhausted asylum seeker.
Once you’ve been registered, we’ll introduce you to the ways JRS UK can help in more detail.
If we’re not able to register you at this time, these organisations may be able to help.
JRS Shop
The centre is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for refugees registered with JRS to visit the JRS Shop: to collect food parcels, toiletries, enjoy a cup of tea, and, where possible, speak to a member of the JRS team for advice face-to-face.
A member of the JRS team will contact you to arrange a day and time for you to visit.
You must have an appointment to visit JRS in Wapping at this time. If you come without an appointment, we’re sorry but we may not be able to help you.
For more information, or to register please contact us on 020 7488 7310. The JRS team remains available to support you as much as possible over the phone.
Advice, Support & Hardship Grants
Once registered with JRS, as well as accessing the JRS Shop (by appointment), you can receive small hardship grants via a top-up cash card (Equals card) and regular mobile phone credit top-ups too.
We continue to offer casework advice and support over the phone; as well as an emotional support & befriending scheme, where we pair you up with one of our volunteers for regular check-ins.
For more information, or to register with JRS UK, please contact us on 020 7488 7310
Refugee-led activities
Once registered with JRS UK, you’ll be able to participate in a range of online (and some face-to-face) activities including:
- Creative writing
- Drama
- Photography
- Acupuncture & Reflexology
- Bike lessons with The Bike Project
- Prayer and reflection groups
For more information, or to register with JRS UK, please contact us on 020 7488 7310
Detention Outreach Services
Our Detention Outreach Team offers support to men currently detained at the Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) near Heathrow Airport – Colnbrook and Harmondsworth. Our team are here to offer you practical help and casework advice as well as emotional and pastoral support and drama workshops during your time in detention. We do not provide legal advice.
Our team of volunteers are available to come and visit you whilst you are detained and can be a friend for you to talk to and a vital link with the community outside detention.
If you would like some support and someone to talk to you can call us on 07762 387096. If we cannot take your call, please leave a message or send us an SMS with your name, phone number and the language you speak, and we will call you back as soon as we can.
Our services are confidential and open to anyone at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook. If we are not able to help you we may know someone who can and we will assist you in contacting them.
Post Detention Support
The majority of people who experience immigration detention are released back into the community, however the damaging impact of detention can continue to affect individuals long after release. JRS UK can help you to make contact with local organisations who may be able to support you after detention and assist you to re-connect with your community.
Our team also provides in-depth casework support for a small number of people who would otherwise struggle to engage with their immigration case. By providing long-term accompaniment we aim to help individuals to make progress with their immigration cases. Due to the nature of this project, we can only take referrals when there is capacity.
If you have experienced immigration detention, or are supporting someone who has, and need some support in the community, contact William at william.neal@jrs.net or call 07809 759677. We are not able to provide legal advice. We are currently providing drama workshops for people after they are released from detention.
Other places who may be able to offer you support
Other places who may be able to offer you support
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There are other places across London who may be able to offer support as well as JRS UK. Below is a short list of places.
Samaritans
116 123
Services:
- Call free helpline on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org to talk through any worries, concerns and troubles.
- Open 24/7, 365 days a year
Shelter
0808 800 4444
Various Locations: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
Services:
- Help with housing issues and homelessness
- Applying for shelter
- Legal advice
- Book via phone or online
Manna Centre
12 Melior Street
SE1 3QP
(near London Bridge station)
020 7403 1931
Services:
- Daily Drop-in from 10 am – 1 pm
- Takeaway meal, consisting of a hot dinner and a sandwich.
- Housing & welfare advice helpline 020 7403 1931 (choose option 1)
- Mon/Wed/Friday: clothing (request slip needs to be filled)
British Red Cross
Services:
Refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants can get free emergency support including:
- food
- small amounts of cash
- clothes
- toiletries
- blankets
- baby items
What is offered depends where you are in the country. Help could also include:
- reuniting with family
- travel vouchers
- benefits and career advice
- help registering with a doctor or dentist
- coming with you to appointments
- learning about life in the UK
- getting to know your local area
- counselling
South London Refugee Association
The Woodlawns Centre
16 Leigham Court Road
SW16 2PJ
Services:
- Telephone advice prioritised for asylum seekers, new refugees at risk of destitution & families, individuals with no recourse to public funds on homelessness, housing issues, destitution, welfare benefits, asylum support and immigration issues.
- Caseworkers will continue to provide casework support to adults and young people remotely. We will be using interpreters to support phone conversations for those who need this.
- Support volunteers will call those identified as vulnerable or isolated regularly, checking in with them, having a chat and making sure that they have access to food and medicine if they are self-isolating.
- Women’s Group on Whatsapp and Zoom, and Women’s Group facilitator will be sharing resources, selfcare material, educational games for children, virtual yoga sessions and will be keeping the women updated with the
news and with changes. - Counsellor is providing telephone support for those receiving
casework support or advice from our team. - Youth Activities for young people ages 14 to 18 years who would
usually attend the Youth Club - Emergency Hardship Support, delivery of food and other essentials including toiletries and sanitary products. We can also provide small one-off hardship payments ( up to £20 per person) for families who are experiencing severe hardship and those who have no recourse to public funds. Please note that this emergency service is only available to clients with no other income or support and who
are local to us (Lambeth, Wandsworth, Merton, Croydon and Southwark).
Notre Dame Refugee Centre
Maison Pierre Chanel
16 Leicester Square
London, WC2H 7LE
Immigration advice line: 0207 440 2669 (10.30-12.30, Wednesdays & 10.30-13.30 on Fridays)
Services:
Support asylum seekers throughout the asylum process:
- Before an asylum claim has been lodged with the Home Office
- Whilst awaiting a decision.
- After the decision has been received, and regardless of whether the applicant has been recognised by the Home Office as a refugee.
- If recognised as a refugee, we can then assist with Family Reunion applications
- Support non-EU migrants who have not claimed asylum, but are seeking or have sought leave to remain under human rights legislation, usually through having established a private or family life under the European Convention on Human Rights.
- Non-EU family members of EU citizen’s resident in the UK can also receive assistance from us to regularise their stay, or bring other family members to the UK.
- Representing clients at the Immigration tribunal where there is merit in their case and legal aid is not available.
Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers
020 7732 0505
office@sdcas.org.uk
Various Day centres at Copleston Centre (Tuesdays), Peckham Park Road Baptist Church (Wednesdays) and St Mary’s Newington (Thursdays) are available to clients on a drop-in basis.
Services:
- Emergency parcels of food and other essentials to those who need them on Wednesdays at 121 Peckham Park Road, Peckham Park Road Baptist Church, SE15 6SX from 10am – 2pm
- Providing access to food, accommodation, toiletries, safe accommodation and government support.
- Facilitating people’s access to healthcare.
Hackney Migrant Centre
Services:
Book an appointment on the Advice Line, call 07961 014182 (Mondays, 10am -11.30am)
Advice line offers free advice and casework for all migrants regardless of immigration status, nationality or current place of residence on:
- Immigration
- Homelessness and insecure housing, including destitution cases with “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF)
- Poverty relief, including food bank vouchers and small grants
- Health advocacy, for help with access to NHS services, GP registration and problems with NHS charges.
Refugee Council
Services:
- Infoline (08081967272)– aims to connect refugees and people seeking asylum with organisations who can help. This is a short term project to support people during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Crisis advice and practical support for refugees, help them to integrate into their new communities
- Mental health counselling to help refugees come to terms with the trauma so many of them have experienced.
- Support refugee children and young people who arrive in the UK alone.
