How you can help.

Let people know what is available – activities, services, voluntary and work opportunities etc.

• Email swansea@cityofsanctuary.org. We can insert links to your organisation on our website and circulate activities, voluntary and work opportunities through email lists.
• To chat to people personally about activities, opportunities etc that you would like to welcome them to, or simply to meet asylum seekers and refugees, come to weekly drop-ins run by Swansea Bay asylum seekers support group. Email marilyn-thomas@lineone.net

Raise awareness:

• Invite the asylum seekers and refugees speakers team to speak to your organisation about their experience and explain more about City of Sanctuary. Contact Ginger Wiegand, Displaced People in Action gingerdpiawales@yahoo.co.uk
• Challenge unhelpful myths. (for leaflet on this contact Ginger, above)

Volunteer or raise money for local asylum charities

• Asylum Justice offers free – and often life-saving – legal help. It makes sure that people seeking asylum have their case properly represented when they cannot get access to paid legal services. Legally qualified and lay volunteers, and funds, desperately needed. Contact Rosemary Jones on havardjonesr@btinternet.com
• Welsh Refugee Council needs money for its hardship fund for people left destitute when they are refused asylum. Contact www.welshrefugeecouncil.org
• Voluntary Hosting Project. Pilot project to find emergency accommodation in people’s spare rooms. Volunteer hosts, fund-raisers, other kinds of help, admin volunteers needed. Contact swansea@cityofsanctuary.org
• Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers Support Group. Runs informal drop-ins on Fridays and Saturdays. Volunteers needed to help with informal English Classes, to help with refreshments, suggest activities and simply to chat and be part of a vibrant international community. Contact marilyn-thomas@lineone.net

Bring people together

• Take part in or start a FAN Group – listening circles designed to help people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities meet in friendship. Groups meet for one hour a week Contact Amy Cuff amy_fdo@yahoo.co.uk (A number of people are hoping to start FAN groups in Swansea in the near future – the more people interested the better).
• Organise an event – music, dancing, games, singing, exhibitions, discussions etc etc. Contact: swansea@cityofsanctuary.org for possible entertainers, ideas etc.
• Join in with what’s going on – join the SWARM email list – Swansea Asylum and Refugee Matters – to find out about events, activities, ideas etc. Contact t.cheesman@swan.ac.uk to join the list.

Join with others in your field of work to share ideas and offer better services

We are looking for people working in faith groups, education, local communities, the arts, training and employment etc who would like to work with others to make their services more welcoming and inclusive for people seeking sanctuary. Contact swansea@cityofsanctuary.org to link with others and meet asylum seekers and refugees who can discuss issues with you.

If you have people seeking sanctuary in your own organisation…

• Do people need letters of support for their asylum case?
• Are there people living on supermarket vouchers? Can you help them?
• Do people need voluntary opportunities – refer them to Swansea Council of Voluntary Service
• Are they lonely? Include them in social invitations and activities and tell them about what is going on (see rest of this leaflet for some ideas and use your own local knowledge)
• Find out their talents and ambitions – include them in the voluntary work within your organisation

Campaign

• Join the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns email list. Contact ncadc@ncadc.org.uk Information on forcible detention and deportations – often of people in real danger. Model letters for people who want to help. Useful website if you meet people threatened with deportation. For local contacts on deportation contact swansea@cityofsanctuary.org
• Sign up to the campaign to end the detention of children, organised by the Children’s Society – www.childrenssociety.org.uk – look for the OutCry campaign.

Keep in touch!
Contact City of Sanctuary with other ideas – and with information on activities which have helped to make people seeking sanctuary feel welcomed, included and involved.
Thank you!!

See printable PDF of this How to Help information here.