Refugee Action

Refugee Action have been helping refugees settle into the UK for more than forty years. Starting out in October 1981 to help resettle Vietnamese refugees, Refugee Action offer advice and support to those fleeing devastating conflicts and natural disasters. They offer those seeking asylum advice and guidance to help them navigate the failing asylum system. But the work doesn’t end at the asylum process. Once people have their application approved, Refugee Action help them settle into their new homes and communities and help children get into schools. They even offer support booking doctors appointments and ensure refugees access a GP within eight days of arrival and give all refugees an Emergency Services briefing on arrival day.

Within three days of arriving in a new community, they give refugee families a Local Orientation tour, the first step to successfully settling in the UK. This is followed by a tailored Personal Integration Planning process, which starts within the first month of arrival, with a follow-up meeting every three months.

Refugee Action also campaign for all people with refugee backgrounds to access English classes as part of the efforts to remove the barriers to employment and integration. Through their Pathways to Work project, Refugee Action allow refugees to chase their employment and education goals, giving them the support needed to build a career for themselves.

Since 2022, as part of the Homes for Ukraine initiative, Refugee Action have helped Ukrainian refugees find homes in the West Midlands and north west of England. Not only do they help with initial housing, they also support refugees secure financial support in the form of work and benefits, education for both children and adults, English lessons, legal support and much more. Find out more here.

Refugee Action offer support to those who are in direct need, but they’ve also played a key role in lobbying governments and championing fair immigration legislation. Despite the hard work that Refugee Action and countless other refugee charities do, the experience asylum seekers go through is unnecessarily harsh. 68% of Asylum Seekers wait more than 6 months for a decision on their application. In that time those claiming asylum are banned from working, with no choice but to live off roughly £5.84 a day for food, toiletries, clothes and anything else they may need. Almost £5 less than what is considered acceptable for minimum wage for those age 23 and over. Pregnant women and women with young children are allowed an extra £3 (£5 if the child is under a year old) to buy healthy food for the baby. Support that Home Secretary Suella Braverman illegally attempted to deny. Even a Mickey Mouse mural is deemed more than children seeking asylum deserve. This government’s attempt to strip the rights of asylum seekers makes Refugee Action’s work all the more crucial.