REGIONAL TEAMSWELCOME PACK

C O N T E N T S

3.REFUGEES IN THE UK

a) Overview b) Statisticsc) Brief National Service Directory

1.HELP REFUGEES

a) About us b) Values

2.REGIONAL TEAMS

a) Mission Statementb) Advisory Panelc) Stage Plan

Contents1 . H E L P R E F U G E E S / / A B O U T U S

Help Refugees isn’t just another charity. We pride ourselves on doing things differently. In August 2015, three friends founded Help Refugees, determined to make a small difference in response to the worst refugee crisis since World War II. 18 months later, Help Refugees is a grassroots charity carry-ing out the work of a major aid organisation with a fraction of the budget.

More than 96% of our funds go straight to projects - and that’s completely unprecedented in the charity sector. We are, first and foremost, answerable to our beneficiaries, and we support local,

grassroots groups and volunteers to facilitate local solutions. Unconstrained by red tape, we act where big NGOs and governments don’t, getting aid to those who need it most.

Having grown exponentially and developed in the face of today’s global refugee crisis,we believe that with our network of grassroots groups, partners, volunteers and supporters, we have enabled a new movement in humanitarian response - acting quickly and flexibly, enabling ordinary people to help other ordinary people in need in the most direct of ways.

1 . H E L P R E F U G E E S / / VA L U E S

H U M A N I T YAt the core of everything we do is our belief in treating people with the utmost dignity, humanity and respect.

We act quickly, unconstrained by red tape. We identify the gaps left by big NGOs and governments.

I M M E D I A C Y

L O C A L S U P P O R T We will always prioritise working with local organisations and refugees themselves to find local solutions.

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We believe that the only way to make a long-lasting difference is through political solutions. We will fight injustice and campaign for change.

From funding smaller organisations to enabling refugees to take agency over their lives, empowerment is at the core of what we do.

E M P O W E R M E N T

I N D E P E N D E N C EWe are a grassroots charity - that informs everything we do. We are and will always remain an independent organisation.

A D V O C A C Y

2 . R E G I O N A L T E A M S / / I N T R O D U C T I O N

As a member of a Regional Team, you will act as a supporter of Help Refugees in your area.

There are thousands of former Help Refu-gees volunteers in the UK. You will act as a link between the Help Refugees Head Of-fice and grassroots organisations and vol-unteers in your area. You will work with your Regional Team Leader. Your main responsi-bility will be mapping services.

There has been no nationwide service avail-able to refugees and asylum seekers since the abolition of the Refugee Integration and

Our Regional Team members are all invit-ed to be a part of Help Refugees’ new Advi-sory Panel. Made up of volunteers and ref-ugees alike, the Advisory Panel will come together in quarterly meetings, where they will receive updates about Help Refugees projects, engage in discussion around the refugee crisis and will have the chance to

Employment Service (RIES) in September 2011. Volunteer services plug the gaps to various extents across the country, but there is little coordination between them, and ref-ugees are often left to their own devices to findout what help is available to them.

Alongside other local organisations, Help Refugees is looking to create an online re-source which will comprehensively list the services available to refugees in the UK.

influence the direction of Help Refugees based on their experience as a volunteer orbeneficiary.

Each Advisory Panel meeting will be held in a different part of the UK, so if you can’t come to one, don’t worry - the next one will hopefully be hosted nearer to you.

2 a . R E G I O N A L T E A M S / / M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T

2 b . R E G I O N A L T E A M S / / A D V I S O RY PA N E L

We will help refugees navigate their new lives and find community in the UK. To do this, we will mobilise our former volunteer community and develop a user-friendly directory of servic-es and organisations. In the long term, we will campaign for meaningful change for refugees in the UK alongside our regional teams.

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On a local level, Help Refugees will delegate responsibilites and assign tasks to the Regional Team Leader, who will work with members of the Advisory Panel based in their area. On a national level, the Advisory Panel will use their experience as a volunteer or beneficiary to inform the direction of Help Refugees.

Assign tasksGive feedback

Work with local members of the Advisory Panel

2 c . R E G I O N A L T E A M S / / S TA G E P L A N

STAGE ONE

COMMUNICATION- Contact local organisations, such as City of Sanctuary. Find out whether they have done any service mapping.- Speak to refugees in the area. Find out what they see as the biggest problems and see what services they are using.- Supporting the Regional Team Leader in dividing up tasks between local volunteers based on each individual’s skillset.

MAPPING- Assess: has it been done locally? If so: fact check and help to improve.- If not, find out what services are available in your area. What do they offer? What’s their capacity? Limitations? - Check and update information at least monthly.- Encourage groups to update info them-selves

STAGE TWO

CAMPAIGNING-Identify key issues that need addressing in each region. Speak to volunteers, refugees and organisations.-Lobby local MPs, uniting grassroots orgs around a common campaign.-Campaign locally for national issues, eg Dubs Amendment.

COMMUNITY FUNDRAISING-Build relationship with local businesses, schools, unions, football clubs etc. -See how they may be able to start or fund refugee-focused initiatives , (or donate re-sources or facilities to local refugee groups)-Secure funding for pressing local needs.

Regional Team Leaders

Regular checks

Assess &network

Input intosystem

Log services

Service directorycomplete

Flowchart explaining how our mapping project will work. Regular checks on each organisation are essential to keep the map up-to-date.

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3 a . R E F U G E E S I N T H E U K / / O V E R V I E W

The UK can be a daunting place to arrive in for a refugee. Many consider it to be the end of their journey, but going through the asy-lum seeking process with little information and support available can be overwhelming. Local support services can be almost impos-sible to find without friends in the country.

Many of you will have volunteered with Help Refugees in France or in Greece. You will have seen the hardships that people face living in those terrible camps - the police brutality, the scarcity of resources, the indif-ference of the state, the lack of medical or psychological support and more

In our research with refugees and asylum

seekers in the UK, we have found that they face many of the same problems as they did in the camps - it’s just that here, these prob-lems span years and even decades, rath-er than months. We spoke to single female asylum seekers whom, with no place to stay and no money, resort to sleeping on buses and in gambling houses. Last year, the Red Cross worked with 15,000 destitute asylum seekers. Many refugees and asylum seek-ers suffer with severe depression, and many know someone who has taken their own life.

It may take a shift of perspective, but it’s im-portant to understand that there is a lot of work to be done in the UK. We need your help.

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3 b . R E F U G E E S I N T H E U K / / S TAT I S T I C S 2 0 1 6

• Germany is the only European country in the top 10 hosting countries world-wide, ranking 9th.

• Germany, Italy and France alone ac-count for 75% of all asylum applications in Europe.

• The UK receives just 3.1% of asylum applications in Europe, despite account-ing for 13% of the EU’s entire

• population.

Thousands of refugees are left destitute after their asylum decision

1 IN EVERY 113 PEOPLE IN THE WORLD ARE NOW DISPLACED

Displaced people worldwide: 65.3mUK population: 65.1m

Refugees worldwide: 22.7m

Refugees in top 5 host countries*: 7.1m

Asylum applications in Europe: 1.2m

UK asylum grants 2012-2016: 78k

Source: Eurostat, UNHCR, Home office* Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran and Ethiopia

UK ASYLUM APPLICANTS’ NATIONALITY: TOP FIVE

Iran: 4780Pakistan: 3700Iraq: 3645Afghanistan: 3100Bangladesh: 2225

UK ASYLUM RECIPIENTS’ NATIONALITY: TOP FIVE

Syria: 1590 (+ 4360 resettled)Iran: 1455Eritrea: 1235Sudan: 1175Afghanistan: 603

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UK: ASYLUM CLAIMS

1st asylum claim positive decisions: 34% (declining since 2012)1st asylum claim refusals 66% (increasing since 2012)

On appeal this proportion changes to 49% total positive and 51% total refused, which means that every 10th refusal of the Home Office is proven wrong when checked prop-erly by the courts. This process takes time, energy, access to lawyers, language/trans-lation and knowledge of the procedure.

For some nationalities the acceptance rate on appeal is as high as 80%.

UK: WHERE DO PEOPLE GO?

More than half of all current asylum claim-ants are in the North West (24%), West Mid-lands(13%), Yorkshire and Humber(12%) and the North East (9%). In relationship to the local population many are also in South Wales (Swansea, Cardiff, Newport)

After that it’s impossible to trace people, be-cause they aren’t especially registered as recipients of asylum and are free to move. It is safe to assume that most will stay within the initial region, or move near one of the major cities (London, Birmingham, Liver-pool, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle)

UK: HOW ARE PEOPLE DOING?

39,390 people receive section 95 support, which is accommodation in dispersal hous-ing and/or subsistence support (roughly £36/week). Asylum seekers don’t have the legal right to work. Support is given only while ap-plying for asylum and ceases within 28 days of an asylum decision.Often people become homeless or desti-tute during bureaucratic processing times of their paper work or after they are granted protection. The Red Cross supports almost 15,000 destitute refugees. The full number of affected individuals is likely to be higher.

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4 . N AT I O N A L S E R V I C E D I R E C T O RY

ACCOMODATIONGOV: Find your local authority housing team hereRefugee Council: Refugee Resettlement - resettled refugees are supported for 12 months.Refugees at Home: finding hosts for asylum seekers and refugees - hereHomes for Syrians: finding hosts & homes for Syrians with refugee status here Positive Action in Housing: rooms for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK here

ADAPTING TO LIFE IN THE UKRefugee Action: What help do recently arrived refugees need factsheet – link

CAMPAIGNINGJoint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants – (campaigns for justice in immigration, refugee law & policy) - more info here Citizens UK: community organising & civil society alliances in England & Wales here Refugees Welcome: list of nationwide local groups supporting refugees here

DESTITUTIONRed Cross: short term emergency support and expert advice here Shelter: emergency housing and advice here

DETENTION & DEPORTATIONRight to Remain: list of detention centres, plus up-to-date advice here AVID: support, advocacy, information, visitor groups here

EDUCATION & TRAININGRefugee Council: Access to Further Education guide for asylum seekers &

refugees hereCORAM: Access to Higher Education Factsheet hereGOV: Further Education Courses & Funding hereUCAS: Financing Education hereStudent & Teacher Action for Refugees (STAR): UK map of STAR groups) hereSTAR: University Scholarships for Refugees & Asylum Seekers hereRefuAid: IELTS language grants here

EMPLOYMENT

Refuaid: access to work loans here Refugee Council: Refugee Employment Advice & Support Service here

FAMILYGOV: Family reunification hereRed Cross: Family reunification info hereSafe Passage: family reunification, Dublin III, unaccompanied minors hereThe Children’s Society – (list of children’s centres & services ENGLAND) here

FOOD

Trussell Trust: map of UK foodbanks here

HEALTH & WELLBEING NHS ENGLAND:

NHS Choices: information on NHS services hereHealth Access for Refugees Programme: support for refugees/asylum seekers to access health & social care services hereRegister with a GP guidelines hereNHS GP Registration: Form hereCarer Service for Refugees & Asylum Seekers: hereNon-Emergency Helpline: (NHS 111 Service) – CALL 111 interpreter service

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7470) here

TRAVELHome Office Travel Document Advice: here

UNACCOMPANIED MINORSSafe Passage: family reunification, Dublin III, unaccompanied minors - info hereRefugee Council: advice for unaccompanied minors in the UK hereChild Trafficking Advice Centre (CTAC): advice for professionals & advocates working with children being moved across borders/ safeguarding concerns. HELPLINE: 0808 800 5000) more info here

WOMENWomen for Women Refugees: empowering women refugees in UK hereAsylum Aid for Women Refugees: free legal advice & representation here

USEFUL SOCIAL MEDIA PAGESHelp Refugees: here Phone Credit for Refugees: group that tops up refugees’ phones here UK Refugee Welcome - People to People Solidarity: hereRefugees Welcome - UK: here Refugee Buddy Network: befriending network here

available - includes links to information leaflets in Arabic, Farsi, Urdu here

NHS SCOTLANDRegister with a GP: guide hereFind your nearest GP: hereInformation on Healthcare for Refugees & Asylum Seekers: here

NHS WALESService Directory: find NHS Wales’ services here

NHS NORTHERN IRELANDHealth & Social Care Providers: listed by service & location here

OTHER HEALTH SERVICESRefugee Council: therapeutic services hereFreedom from Torture:rehabilitation for torture survivors here

LEGALRight to Remain Toolkit: guide to UK immigration & asylum system hereRight to Remain: immigration legal advice & lawyers hereGOV: guidelines to claiming asylum hereAsylum Helplines: advice by phone on asylum process or adapting to life in UK hereAsylum Aid: Advice Line 020 7354 9264 Tuesday 1pm-4pmLaw Centres ENGLAND: list of Law Centres hereElectronic Immigration Network: online database of information on immigration & refugee law/expert country evidence in asylum & immigration cases in UK hereUndocumented Migrants: free & confidential legal advice helpline Mon, Tues, Thurs 10am-1pm: 020 7553

@helprefugeesuk