Brixton (Head Office)
Our Support and Advice Section offers a wide range of services to over 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers living in London each year. We provide a warm welcome to asylum seekers who have just arrived in the UK, listen to their needs and often traumatic experiences and support them though each stage of the asylum decision-making process. We help people who go on to gain refugee status, ensuring they receive the services to which they are entitled and can begin to build new lives in a different culture.
The London One Stop Service provides a wide range of advice and information to refugees and asylum seekers, whatever their experience or refugee status. In 2005/6 we provided over 15,000 advice sessions covering issues such as:
- the welfare system - support and entitlement
- training, education and employment
- the asylum decision process and NASS support system
Interpreters are available to assist people with little or no English. We provide interpreters for over 20 different languages each month and have sessional interpreters covering over 100 languages.
Opening hours
Monday: 9am-5.30pm
Tuesday: 9am-5.30pm
Wednesday: 2pm-5.30pm
Thursday: 9am-5.30pm
Friday: 9am-5.30pm
Other services
Specialist Team
The Specialist Team provides services for asylum seekers and refugees who have additional needs regarding health, disability, mental health or mental well-being. Services are provided in three main areas:
- Health access and health promotion, including help with GP registration, specialist clinic referrals, accessing dentists, pharmacists, opticians and other health services and advice on entitlements;
- Bi-Cultural Support, a culturally sensitive assessment, referral & casework service for clients with mental well-being needs;
- Women’s Groups for newly-arrived and more established women clients.
We also provide English language support, Shiatsu massage and a mentoring service for women living with HIV (all provided by volunteers.) The team is supported by a volunteer psychiatrist and general nurse.
Day Centre
Our Day Centre provides a welcoming environment for all our clients. Breakfasts and delicious hot lunches are served every day and our team of project workers and volunteers are on hand to provide practical support such as second-hand clothing, emergency toiletries, baby packs and food parcels. The Centre also runs drop-in services for different client groups.
These include:
- English language classes (3 days/week)
- Women’s Group (weekly)
- ‘Study Support Sessions’(weekly) for school age asylum seekers
- Social evenings (weekly) for 16/17 years old separated children, to help them meet people in similar situations, encourage them to relax and make new friends
Volunteering
There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer at our London Office. Go to our Volunteering section to find out more.
Childrens panel
Our London office houses our Children's panel who provide guidance to separated children seeking asylum. Go to our Children's services section to find out more.
West London Office
This office helps refugees and asylum seekers who live in the West London boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow.
We welcome newly arrived asylum seekers and help them though each stage of the asylum decision-making process. We support those who go on to gain refugee status, ensuring they receive the services to which they are entitled and can begin to rebuild their lives. We also support asylum seekers who are destitute.
Our West London One Stop Service provides a wide range of advice and information on issues such as:
- subsistence and accommodation
- applications to the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA), the government body responsible for providing support and accommodation to asylum seekers
- the asylum process, rights and entitlements
- welfare benefits, education, employment and health-care
- other sources of help and support for refugees and asylum seekers
Interpreters are available to assist people with little or no English.
Opening hours
Monday: 9.30am-5.00pm
Tuesday: 9.30am-5.00pm
Wednesday: 9.30am – 1.30pm
Thursday: 9.30am-5.00pm
Friday: 9.30am-5.30pm
Other services
We also: - provide English language classes. provide support to refugee women fleeing domestic violence. provide volunteer support to those who are particularly vulnerable. refer people to Refugee Council Specialist Team if they have a mental health problems or physical disability. help with an applications for Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme. tell asylum seekers and refugees about refugee community organisations or other agencies offering longer-term support.
