Refugee Support Devon Annual Review

Year ending 31st March 2018

CHAIR’S

REPORT Another exciting year has seen Refugee

Support Devon (RSD) grow considerably as an

organisation. In order to meet the challenge of

receiving and supporting families arriving in

Devon through the Vulnerable Persons

Resettlement Scheme (VPRS), we have taken

on four new staff. Tameem Shaaban, Sahar

Alnaas and Baraa Kouja, our resettlement

coordinators, have welcomed and supported 22

families accommodated in towns throughout

Devon. Meanwhile, Nick Floyd recently joined

our team to offer administrative support. Our

thanks go to Michael Grace who kicked off as

our outreach worker with the VPRS, but left the

team in the summer to take up further

studies. We expect to continue to receive

new families until 2020, most arriving from

the camps bordering Syria.

RSD’s work relies heavily on the support of

volunteers. Not only have staff numbers

grown, but volunteer numbers have risen to

more than 80. Volunteers help out with all

aspects of RSD’s work including the VPRS,

our drop-in sessions, English language and

IT tuition, our allotment, fundraising, and

organising events such as Refugee Week in

June. Volunteers have brought a wide range

of skills and experiences without which we

could not continue to support the various

services RSD offers. On behalf of RSD’s

Board of Directors I wish to thank them all

for their unstinting commitment to our work.

At RSD we regularly look at ways in which we

can evolve our strategic and operational

performance. In November I attended a training

workshop in London to consider ways of

implementing the recent Charity Governance

Code which we have now adopted. It covered

issues such as leadership, integrity, diversity,

openness and accountability. We have a strong

and committed Board of Directors and this

year we have been pleased to welcome

back Chris Hill, our treasurer, and Zenzi

Hobogwana–Graham, both of whom have

served on the board in previous years.

National media focus on refugee issues

appears to have diminished compared with

the previous two years, though the number

of refugees worldwide keeps growing and

could be said to have reached crisis

proportions. Refugees continue to arrive

on the shores of Europe. Here at RSD we

play our very small, yet no less important,

role in this global picture.

Jenny Longford

Volunteers continue to provide vital support

across the range of RSD services. We are

indebted to their commitment, time, skills, and

experience, all of which have a positive impact

on the lives of those most vulnerable within our

community.

A total of 153 community members, 41 men and

112 women, expressed interest to volunteer with

us this year. 63 of these individuals attended one

of six volunteer training sessions held during the

year, and 43 individuals successfully went on to

volunteer with us. Although we had fewer

initial volunteer enquiries this year (cf. 297

in 2016-2017), the number of people who

became volunteers after their training has

increased (cf. 33 in 2016-2017). Our current

cadre of volunteers now exceeds 80.

We have carried on developing our very

successful partnership with Plymouth

University to offer placements to social work

students enrolled on the undergraduate and

postgraduate level courses. This year, we

welcomed Chris Carty (MA course) and

VOLUNTEERS

Kirsty Potter (BA course), who worked closely

with us for 6 months, and brought large amounts

of enthusiasm, support and knowledge to the

organisation and our clients.

We are very privileged to have a diverse and

skilled volunteer team dedicated to RSD.

DROP-IN SERVICE The ‘drop-in’ is RSD’s core service. Neli Montes

de Oca, our casework coordinator, and a team

of 20 volunteers offer vital assistance to

refugees, asylum seekers and their families. The

diversity of their skills and experiences enable

them to deal with the wide range of difficulties

our clients face.

This year, 122 clients came to our drop-in

service, with a total of 575 visits between them

(cf. 516 in 2016-2017). Of this total, 51%

identified as refugees, 15% as asylum seekers

and 33% either did not reveal their status or have

settled residency in the UK. Clients were from 29

different countries, with the majority being from

Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

Neli and three volunteers, Alex, Suzy,

and Tony studied hard to gain

accreditation with OISC (Office of

Immigration Services Commissioner) as

level one immigration advisers. Our

warm thanks to Refugee Action for

delivering the training.

This will enable RSD to give advice on

a number of basic immigration issues.

Many of our clients do not have the

means to pay for immigration advice

and often do not qualify for support from

statutory services. As a result, they

come to us as we are sometimes the

only organisation able to help them.

Towards Immigration Advice…

"I arrived in the UK when I was 19 years old. I am originally from Africa; I was sent

to France to live with relatives when I was 14, a very young woman. I escaped

France because I was treated like a slave, no education, not enough resources, just

work. I came to London, but shortly after my arrival I met a woman who offered me

support and accommodation. I lived with her for a couple of years, but things

started to get very bad; she abused me financially and treated me very badly. I got

so fed up with this that I left again. I found myself doing odd jobs to survive, then I

met the father of my two children. My health deteriorated severely. I was in and out

of hospital for a few years, but fortunately, the last two years I have been ok. There

have been some very difficult times, days when I didn’t have a penny to survive. I

became homeless and I didn’t know what to do about my legal situation. I didn’t

have the rights to claim for any support.

I came to RSD and they helped me to apply for legal aid to regularise my situation.

It’s taken nearly two years, but finally a few weeks ago with RSD’s help, I received

my Biometric Residence Permit card and I am ready to make a fresh start.”

GILL’S STORY

Once again, there has been an increase in refugees and asylum seekers needing support from

our emergency fund. 22 individuals - of whom 4 were women - made 275 claims during the

course of the year. 12 of these claimants had 21 dependents between them. We gave a total of

£5,200, of which the majority was used either for food or travel. In addition to this, we issued 56

Foodbank vouchers to individuals and families, as well as distributed our allotment’s fresh

produce to those in need.

DESTITUTION

“RSD is always keen to help

me with my problems. I hope

the charity continues to help

people in the community.”

RSD client.

“I can only thank RSD for all the support and help they have

offered me from the start. Thank you for all you do for me.”

RSD client.

“I am very grateful to RSD for all the support and help you

have provided me. God bless you all.” RSD client.

OUTREACH

Neli and volunteers continue to offer outreach services to those with more complex cases, and those

who require support over a long period of time. 9 volunteers and 2 social work students have provided

the following out-of-office support to clients:

accompanying clients to the police station / doctor’s / bank / job centre / Citizens Advice /

shops / solicitor’s / immigration tribunal

offering emotional support during times of poor health

helping sort out water bills and with small DIY jobs in a client’s new home

liaising with housing and other statutory services when vulnerably housed

providing intensive support to a homeless mum and her new baby.

The Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme

(VPRS) is a national government scheme which

aims to resettle 20,000 families, displaced by the

Syrian conflict, in the UK by 2020. The Vulnerable

Children’s Resettlement Scheme (VCRS) aims to

resettle an additional 3,000 at-risk children and

their families from the Middle East and North

African regions. Devon has pledged to resettle 41

families in total.

RSD plays a crucial role in welcoming families to

the county, coordinating their needs initially and

supporting them through outreach and drop-in

VULNERABLE PERSONS

RESETTLEMENT

SCHEME

sessions to help them settle into their new

lives in Devon.

This year, we have welcomed 12 new

families, 11 from Syria and 1 from Sudan,

comprising 23 children and 24 adults. This

brings the total number of families resettled

in Devon through this scheme to 22. We are

also delighted to welcome two new babies

into the community!

Michael Grace sadly left his post to take up

further studies, and the scheme welcomed

Tameem Shaaban and Sahar Alnaas as

Resettlement Coordinators in summer 2017. As

the project grew so did the need for more staff

and a third Resettlement Coordinator, Baraa

Kouja joined the team in January 2018.

To help us meet the needs of families dispersed

throughout Devon, RSD opened a small office

for Tameem in Newton Abbot. Our thanks to

Teignbridge CVS who support the project

A total of 12 volunteers provide assistance to

VPRS families in and around Exeter, whilst a

further 14 volunteers help families in the

southern districts. Volunteers have been

especially crucial for families living in rural areas.

A few families who are more settled here have

started to take an active role in volunteering.

Challenges have included needing and managing

more volunteers throughout the county, the impact

of the benefit cap on family income, waiting lists for

mental and physical health support, and reducing

dependence on RSD as families enter their second

year in Devon. Several children also have special

needs and/or medical complications which add to

the intricacies of support required.

RSD has developed a twice weekly VPRS clinic in

its Exeter office where families can receive

assistance from resettlement coordinators and

volunteers. This has become very popular!

As part of this scheme we collaborate with many

local and national organisations, including Devon

County Council, Devon’s District Councils and a

wide range of voluntary agencies.

The Olive Tree (who provide ESOL classes)

Hikmat, Multilingua and other agencies such as

.

Jobcentre Plus have provided regular

support to our clients in areas such as

education, health and well being, and

employment .

Exeter Mosque, The Riverside Centre,

Exeter’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

Saints, as well as local support groups such

as Ottery Refugee Response and Newton

Crisis Aid continue to donate much needed

groceries, toiletries, cleaning equipment, toys

and more to prepare the houses before each

family arrives. All items go towards making

the new homes that little bit more familiar and

comforting when new families arrive.

We are incredibly proud of the progress we

have made with VPRS families this year.

However, we could not have achieved this

without the generous support from the public

and local organisations. We are very much

looking forward to welcoming more new

families in the coming year.

SCHOOLS PROJECT

Their

feedback

says it all!

5 Devon

schools

invited RSD.

900 children

learnt about

current refugee

issues.

Workshops were

led by Lizi Allnatt,

RSD volunteer.

WOMEN’S GROUP Getting women together who have experienced

marginalisation, displacement, and who share

similar cultural and language backgrounds has

been very rewarding for all concerned. This year

RSD successfully hosted four women’s group

gatherings between November 2017 and March

2018.

Sahar and seven volunteers coordinated these

get-togethers, engaging registered childminders

to entertain the children, allowing mothers to

relax and enjoy themselves.

The first gathering was attended by 12 women

and 15 children. The women spent time getting to

know each other before receiving a presentation

about Devon, focusing on the main attractions

and important parts of Exeter city.

This get-together was very well received and

many of the women commented how they

had appreciated having time away from the

house “with no men” about!

In the New Year, on an unseasonably warm

day, the families together with staff and

students from the Ancient Journeys Class,

Exeter University enjoyed a day trip to

Branscombe beach, where they explored the

coastline before enjoying a picnic lunch in the

sun.

A most memorable gathering, held in March,

was one that revolved purely around food!

RSD places great importance in helping

people realise their potential through skills

development and confidence building.

The women shared their recipes and family

traditions from their home countries and these

were collated for inclusion in the upcoming RSD

cookbook.

The women then created these traditional dishes

providing a wonderful feast for everyone!

We will develop our women’s network further and

look forward to seeing it go from strength to

strength in years to come.

This year, we said goodbye to Julia Crockett

as our Education and Employability

Coordinator, and welcomed Denise Parker

who took on the role having volunteered with

us for a number of years previously. Between

them, they have worked hard providing

support to refugees who wish to improve their

English proficiency, pursue further education,

and increase their chances of employability.

We had 19 ESOL volunteer tutors - 16 women

and 3 men - who taught 27 clients in their own

homes. We also ran IT, English conversation,

and the last of ‘Life in the UK’ classes. The

latter were designed to support clients with

EDUCATION &

EMPLOYABILITY

their immigration applications. Our special

thanks go to our experienced volunteer, Aqeel,

and also to Exeter University’s STAR (Student

Action for Refugees) volunteers for managing

and running our IT classes in the summer while

we recruited for the Education and

Employability Coordinator post. STAR

volunteers also continued to run English

conversation classes until Easter.

In partnership with RefuAid, we supported a few

refugees to develop their language skills – for

example, taking IELTS and intensive PLAB

courses - to resume their studies and to help

them carry on with their professions in the UK.

We established stronger links with The Olive

Tree to support VPRS families.

With a stronger focus this year on employability

Denise made contact with local employers in

Devon to see who would be willing to recruit

refugees in both full-time and part-time jobs.

We’re developing our ELT resources to support

both clients and our volunteer teachers.

We held regular development days for our

volunteer tutors, including running a workshop on

Basic Literacy and Dyslexia in ESOL, which was

led by two volunteers experienced in the field –

Jenny Longford and Liz Vizard.

The allotment this year has been in

continual growth. The summer was

particularly memorable due to the large

amount of rain we received. We have

regular appearances from the wildlife

residents - robins and crows seem to enjoy

the allotment as much as the volunteers.

Slow worms have to be carefully rescued

and re-homed in the compost heap! We are

very appreciative of our recent shed repairs.

We would also like to thank Jean, Pat, and

Helen for their unstinted commitment to

provide our clients with fresh produce

throughout the year. We are always looking

for new volunteers, and especially for our

refugee families to be more involved and

enjoy the outdoor space.

ALLOTMENT

This year RSD hosted and attended a number of

events to raise awareness of refugee issues. Our

volunteers organised a “Great Get Together” as

part of Refugee Week. This event was held on the

first anniversary of MP Jo Cox’s death as a

reminder of her great efforts to support the rights of

refugees and asylum seekers. Members of the

public, families and friends gathered at Exeter

Quay to enjoy a day of music, food and activities.

COMMUNITY EVENTS Refugees provided traditional recipes from their

families - these will be reproduced into a recipe

book at a later date. Of particular note were the

attendance of Labour MEP, Clare Moody, and

recently re-elected MP, Ben Bradshaw. Other

successful events held during Refugee Week

included a film night and panel discussion at

Studio 74 showing

The Other Side of

Hope, a coffee

morning at the Mint

Methodist Church

and an exhibition in

the foyer of Exeter

City Council.

RSD celebrated at the Exeter Respect Festival

in Belmont Park together with a huge range of

other local groups with origins from around the

globe. 12 volunteers helped Neli Montes de Oca

and Julia Crockett to staff our stall and provided

a weekend of quizzes, games, and awareness

raising with the festival goers.

Our Trustees have also been incredibly busy

this year, working hard within the Devon

community giving talks to churches and

other local groups. We are very proud that

we receive such positive support and offers

of help at each event.

RSD was chosen as one of the charities

supported by the John Lewis Community

Matters scheme, the Waitrose Community

Matters scheme, and the Co-operative Local

Community Fund. Trustees and volunteers

spent a day chatting to customers in the

local Co-operative store where we were

invited to display information on our work, as

well as put out collection boxes!

This year RSD was invited to speak to staff

at a GP Surgery in Exeter. They were very

interested in the services which RSD

provides as a few of their patients are

refugees and asylum seekers. This has now

enabled them to direct relevant patients to

our services, where appropriate. We aim to

reach out to more GP surgeries and other

services with information in the coming year.

RSD presented information to 100 third year

University of Exeter Human Geography

students who had chosen a module on the

refugee crisis. Abigail Grace, former RSD

employee, and Emma Finlinson, a former

volunteer, took part together with June

Marshall, one of our Trustees. The talk was well

received with students engaged in lively

discussions on local refugee and asylum

issues. Our links with University of Exeter

continue to grow as they strive to become a

University of Sanctuary.

Local communities also ran a number of

fundraising events on our behalf including

coffee mornings, concerts, bakery sales and

appeals for which we are extremely grateful.

A warm thanks to all those who continue to

support our work in a myriad of different ways.

We participated in St Thomas Summer Festival

and Exeter Green Fair with information, games

and activities for children. We would like to

congratulate Oscar Gilson (aged 5) who was the

winner of the RSD children’s competition at one

of the events. He was very happy to receive his

prize - a rucksack and its contents which he will

take with him when starting school this year.

TRUSTEES this year

Manager Annette Hughes

Administrator Trupti Desai

Casework Coordinator Neli Montes de Oca

Devon Outreach Coordinator Michael Grace (until September 2017)

Education and Employability

Coordinator

Julia M Crockett (until June 2017) Denise Parker (from October 2017)

Education and Employment

Summer Support

Denise Parker and Aqeel Abdulla (July – Sept 2017)

Resettlement Coordinators Tameem Shaaban (from July 2017) Sahar Alnaas (from August 2017) Baraa Kouja (from January 2018)

Administrative Assistant Nick Floyd (from January 2018)

STAFF this year

Jennifer Longford (Chair) David Mezzetti (Secretary) Chris Hill (Treasurer, re-joined June 2017) Bob Mycock Peter Bainbridge June Marshall Elena Isayev Anna Roderick Zenzi Hobongwana-Graham (re-joined September 2017)

I got to know Christopher Holdsworth as a fellow Trustee of Refugee Support Devon, and therefore I know too how lucky we were to have the benefit of his thinking. He displayed the kind of courteous objectivity characteristic of his Quaker belief, along with an inherent modesty - you would not have known from his demeanour that he had been a long-serving Trustee of The Rowntree Foundation, or of his reputation as a leading medieval historian. He was both a good listener and a shrewd judge of evidence, with a sharp mind alongside a ready sense of humour. Above all, he was a man of real generosity as well as integrity.

Refugee Support Devon was fortunate indeed to be able to draw on his experience and his wisdom: his passing is a real loss.

Lawrence Sail

IN MEMORY OF CHRISTOPHER HOLDSWORTH

29 January 1931 - 1 April 2017

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...

ACCOUNTS SUMMARY

As of March 2017:

£ As of March 2018:

£

B/forward 66,017 114,197

Income 159,345 199,378

Expenditure 111,165 188,940

BALANCE 114,197 124,635

Restricted 42,511 43,023

Unrestricted 71,686 81,612

As ever we are very grateful to all the charitable trusts and funding

organisations which support our work. We would also like to pass

on our heartfelt thanks to all the individuals and community groups

who raise vast amounts of money for us each year. We are very

proud of the work we do and equally proud to have such fabulous

local support. I’m sorry we don’t have the space to mention you all.

Our funders this year were:

The Henry Smith Charity, Big Lottery Awards for All, Lloyds Bank

Foundation for England & Wales, Odin Charitable Trust, Edith Maud

Ellis Charitable Trust, Cooperative Local Community Fund; John

Lewis Community Matters, Waitrose Community Matters, Devon

County Council, Exeter City Council—AND EVERYONE ELSE,

THANK YOU!

Charity Registration Number 1143884

Company Number 7731995

17 St Davids Hill

Exeter EX4 3RG

01392 682185

info@refugeesupportdevon.org.uk

www.refugeesupportdevon.org.uk