How could your community welcome Asylum-seekers and refugees?

• Pass a resolution of support for City of Sanctuary.
• Display one of our "We welcome asylum-seekers and refugees" signs outside your building or office.
• Invite a refugee or asylum-seeker to speak to your community about their experiences.
• Publicise City of Sanctuary, Refugee Week and other refugee events within your community.
• Publicise opportunities for voluntary work with asylum-seekers and refugees.
• Invite refugee groups to your community social events.
• Offer befriending or advocacy to asylum-seekers in your area.
• Offer meeting or worship space to a refugee community group.
• Raise funds for ASSIST or other refugee charities.
• Provide short or longer-term accommodation to homeless asylum-seekers by offering a spare room, or by contributing to the rent for a house.
• Offer volunteer placements for suitably skilled asylum-seekers or refugees with your organisation.
• Consider appointing refugees to positions of responsibility in your community.

These are just a few suggestions of ways that community groups can involve refugees and asylum-seekers in your activities. For more information, contacts with relevant organisations and support with putting these or other ideas into practice please contact us.

Volunteering opportunities

There are many projects which support asylum-seekers and refugees in the Sheffield area, and all would welcome new volunteers...

ASSIST. Supports destitute asylum-seekers with small grants and accommodation. Volunteers needed for fundraising, events, campaigns, publicity etc. Also runs a hosting scheme to provide short-term accommodation to homeless asylum-seekers.
www.assistsheffield.org.uk
admin@assistsheffield.org.uk
Tel: 0114 275 4960

Conversation Club. Informal English conversation and befriending, day trips and social activities for asylum-seekers and volunteers.
Tel: 07985 916683

Northern Refugee Centre. Opportunities for befriending, mentoring, advice work and interpreting.
www.nrcentre.org.uk/volunteer/
Tel: 0114 241 2780

Refugee Education Employment Programme (REEP). Teaching English to asylum-seekers and refugees.
www.refed.plus.com/volunteers.htm

Sheffield Association for the Voluntary Teaching of English (SAVTE). Teaching English as an additional language to asylum-seekers and others.
www.savte.org.uk/

Link to us

You could help us attract more visitors by providing a link to us on your website. We have a range of City of Sanctuary web banners and buttons available. We have also just started to provide RSS newsfeeds on our website, which potentially allow you to show the latest City of Sanctuary headlines on your site.

Volunteer Work Placements Needed for Skilled Refugees

Refugee New Arrivals Project is looking for local employers who are willing to offer volunteer work placements to professionally qualified refugees in their skill sector. Placements are usually for 1 day a week for 12 weeks but other models are possible. Placements are needed in a wide variety of sectors and occupations (e.g. civil, mechanical and environmental engineering, IT, education, accountancy, business administration, human resources and many others) so we welcome offers from companies and organisations working in all fields. For further information, or to register you interest in the scheme, please contact: admin@new-arrivals.org.uk or Tel: 0114 241 2785

Volunteer Advocates Needed

ASSIST is looking for volunteer befriender/advocates who can accompany asylum-seekers to appointments and offer moral support in meetings with solicitors and officials. If you could offer some time for this very important role please contact ASSIST at
admin@assistsheffield.org.uk or
Tel: 0114 275 4960