[to give, to provide, to work actively for]
"It is not easy to manage. That's why people doing charity are helping, because people need the help. Asylum seekers have difficult lives. You had a problem back home and you think if you come here, you will have peace and then you have another problem!" Solange, refugee volunteer
Understanding the challenges faced by refugees, asylum seekers and forced migrants calls us to respond with meaningful solutions. We offer practical assistance to those we accompany, responding to the individual’s needs, whether they find themselves destitute or detained under immigration rules.
Detainees need practical help with communication: securing referrals to specialist services for their health and keeping in touch with family and friends. Our legal liaison service facilitates better communications between stressed detainees and busy solicitors. Our weekly presence in the detention centres provides ‘surgeries’ to respond holistically to individual needs. We provide mobile phone top-ups each month and the offer of a pen-befriender.
Those who come to see us are often struggling with homelessness or hunger. They are surviving without cash whilst dealing with stress or trauma due to their experience of destitution and the uncertainties of their situation, as well as isolation and separation from family back home.
We provide travel money to access critical legal and medical appointments, emergency mini-grants for newly destitute individuals and physical donations (such as toiletries and food) in our JRS shop. Our weekly Day Centre is a safe space to rest, get referrals to key services, meet friends over a cup of tea or coffee, and to get winter coats and food parcels.