We are pleased to inform you DASH has launched a new project, Asylum Guides. The aim of this project is to increase the legal literacy of people seeking asylum in the UK.
Asylum Guides sees trained volunteers matched with one or a small group of people seeking asylum, to provide information about the asylum process – from initial screening through to substantive interview and onto appeals, fresh claims and post decision. Interpreters will be provided. The project is a partnership with Refugee Action. Above all, our Asylum Guides will help those seeking asylum to better navigate their asylum journey.
If you meet people through your service whom this project could help, please refer directly them to me, the Project Coordinator on 07742 282676 or email abdul.h@huddsdash.org
The Community Integration Awards are open until the 30 November 2020. The Awards are aiming to spotlight community level responses to Covid-19 that bring different parts of the community together including migrants and refugees. We’re inviting nominations within three categories, Connecting Communities, Safety For All and Equality, Access and Rights.
We know it’s a challenging and busy time for lots of organisations navigating lockdown, but we hope this opportunity will be of interest to groups who are doing vital work in order to gain recognition and support for their efforts.
We want to reach as many projects and groups in different regions of the UK as possible. Do you think you may be able to promote the Awards within the Yorkshire network?
The attached flyer has the key details. Further information about eligibility and how to apply can be found here: www.integrationawards.uk/nominate/
In Kirklees we (Solace) welcome referrals from health professionals, refugee support organisations and other services such as schools or housing teams. We also welcome enquiries about the service, or any potential referrals if that would be helpful.
Currently appointments are being delivered on the phone or via zoom. We are able to provide data top ups if necessary to enable people to participate, and we also provide interpreters when required. When we can resume face to face work again, our appointments are held at the Whitehouse Centre GP practice.
It is important that prior to making a referral all referrers discuss the potential of working with Solace with the person concerned. For many people the idea of getting help with their psychological distress is a new concept.
You may find it helpful to share the attached leaflet with anyone who would like to know more about the service.
People in Kirklees can also access our two regional projects. Connecting opportunities is a partnership project to help refugees overcome barriers to employment, and our Child and Family Wellbeing Project is for any family who is part of the resettlement scheme and for the schools who have students on the resettlement scheme.
Further information can be found on our website www.solace-uk.org.uk including referral forms and more details about the projects.
For more information click below to download the leaflet
The Refugee Council has created a banking guide to help make this process easier for refugees. The guide explains how bank accounts work in the UK, the documents that banks require applicants to provide, how to make an application for a new account and tips for avoiding financial scams.
I hope you’re keeping well and warm. I’m writing to let you know about DASH’s winter appeal. Our clients need winter clothes. It’s been much harder to distribute donated goods since our drop-ins had to be suspended. Whilst most of our service has continued remotely, the clothing donations stopped. But we’ve found a solution…
This innovative new scheme will benefit our clients by enabling them (from 2nd December or when rules permit) to shop for their own clothes – giving them choice, dignity and the opportunity to integrate.
An added bonus to this appeal is that a single donation will end up benefitting two local charities – DASH and Kirkwood Hospice. The latter does excellent work caring for those with life-limiting illnesses.
The triple bonus is that the wonderful folk at One Community Kirklees have pledged to match all money raised by this appeal, pound for pound, making each donation Thrice As Nice!
Our target is £1500, which One Community would take to £3000. This would buy a substantial amount of vouchers for individuals and families living in financial hardship.
Solace and the Migration and Resettlement Team at Kirklees Council are delivering training to raise awareness about asylum seekers and refugees mental health and support available locally, the training is for council staff and partners.
Date and Time
Thu, 29 October 2020
10:30 – 12:30 GMT
outcome of the session
Helping you to understand the mental health ofasylum seekers and refugees
Explaining Solace’s therapeutic services and how to refer asylum seekers and refugees to Solace
Raising awareness of signposting asylum seekers and refugees to other organisations
Giving strategies for communicating with asylum seekers and refugees
Expanding awareness of issues of work with asylum seekers and refugeesand self-care
Kirklees Council produced a leaflet of useful health and wellbeing related support services for you and people you know. All these services are free to access providing you meet the criteria.
We believe that it’s really important to take care of your health and wellbeing, please read the document carefully and share it widely.
We have a vacancy with the International New Arrival Team based within the Learning Service. If you would like further information please give me a call Kathryn Howard – INAT project manager on 01484 221000.
Each year Black History Month is celebrated in Kirklees but due to the coronavirus outbreak, many of this year’s events will be held virtually. We have produced the attached booklet with details of events organised by community groups and individuals, local organisations and Kirklees Council.
Here are just a few examples of the fantastic events taking place in October.
Black Inventors, England’s Hidden History and Shakespeare and Race
Online exhibitions including: ‘No Ordinary Time’ and ‘Welcome to the Motherland’
‘Windrush: Untold Stories’ and ‘Huddersfield and the NHS: The Caribbean Connection’
‘Hear our Story’ podcast and ‘The Distracted Journey: Poems from a Slave’
Workshops for the Permanent Black History Mural Wall, surgeries for family tree research and Launch of Windrush Garden at Springwood
Musical events celebrating Rap and Gospel!
“This year’s theme of Black History Month is ‘Women in Achievement’. From politics to sport, performing arts to science, from fellow councillors to colleagues, we should celebrate the achievements of black females who continue to inspire and excel.“ Cllr Shabir Pandor, Leader of Kirklees Council
Migration Yorkshire and Kirklees Council are delivering “Introduction to Migration” training for Kirklees Council staff, partners and volunteers work with refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who are living in the UK.
Training will be held via Zoom and link will be sent prior to the training.
Would you benefit from knowing more about the EU Settlement scheme (EUSS)? If you have service users, volunteers, friends, family or colleagues who need to apply for EUSS we can help you to help them with some free online training.
This is a joint work between Kirklees Council and Citizen Advice and Law Centre to deliver six sessions about EU Settlement Scheme.
The training will be delivered by Jamie Mclean, and Teams platform will be used for the training.
Session outcomes
1) How to recognise potential EUSS cases
2) What to do when you have identified an EUSS case
3) The requirements for an EUSS application / what needs to be in place at the outset
NEW ESOL programme coming to Kirklees this September.
The programme is for Pre-Entry and Entry 1 Learners and will be delivered on behalf of #KirkleesWelcomes and Kirklees Council by Paddock Community Trust and Ravensthorpe Community Centre.
The classes will be taught by qualified teachers and will last 12 weeks, with two sessions a week.
Lesson format will reflect current local COVID measures. There is support for those digitally isolated to engage on the programme through a digital equipment loan scheme. (Subject to approval)
If you would like to refer someone or want help yourself in knowing if this is the right course for you help is available from the #KirkleesWelcomes This Way 4 English Team, email Thisway4English@tslkirklees.org.uk or ring and speak to Anita on 0725444080, Whats app or send a text.
The programme also offers so group work, targeting parents and is a short programme of 12 guided learning hours which looks to engage people on an ESOL journey, but reflects the current need to educate people on keeping themselves and their family safe in the COVID pandemic. For more information of working together with groups please contact Christina, Christina@tslkirklees.org.uk
1. Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice for UK visa applicants and temporary UK residents
This is advice for visa customers and applicants in the UK, visa customers outside of the UK and British nationals overseas who need to apply for a passport affected by travel restrictions associated with coronavirus.
DIP has launch a new, FREE, Government Funded, Accredited ONLINE Training Programmes, which is now available acrossWest Yorkshire to all Adult (19+) Learners, with a particular focus on the unemployed.
Click here for the training leaflet for the new Accredited Online Training Programme, which learners can benefit from the comfort of their homes,at times to suit their convenience, all the way from initial contact/referral right through to achieving their qualification/s. Learners will also benefit from dip’s excellent One-to-One Tutor Support over the phone and/or via web-conferencing, whichever is suitable/convenient for learners.
The new qualifications covered 14 subject areas :
• Digital Skills / IT • Health & Social Care
• Employability • Counselling
• Customer Service • Information, Advice & Guidance
• Retail • Managing Your Money
• Warehousing & Storage • Safeguarding & Prevent
• Business • Equality & Diversity
• Digital Marketing & Social Media • Data Protection
Referrals for the new Accredited Online Training Programmes can now be made via:
• Phone: 0800-279 786 1 or 01924 474849 (Mon to Fri: 9.30am to 5pm)
While loneliness is increasingly recognised as a social problem with significant implications for mental and physical health, research addressing these issues within migrant and ethnic minority groups is limited and there is reason to believe that these populations may face increased risks. The project examined the various approaches to tackling loneliness that have been developed and tested with migrants and ethnic minority people. The findings of the research have been brought together in diagrams, pictures and words “
To download the document please click here. This document is best viewed in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Hours: 18.75 hours a week Salary: £12 an hour Contract: 3 years
Deadline: 9 July
Interviews: 14/15 July tbc
Start date: 1 August 2020
DASH is one of 7 frontline organisations covering 7 UK regions undertaking the Asylum Guides project, in partnership with Refugee Action and funded by Comic Relief.
Rooted in the principles of Early Action, the Asylum Guides project takes a preventative approach that aims to empower those seeking asylum to better navigate the UK asylum system by increasing knowledge and understanding of their rights and options within it. The project will be delivered to DASH clients, by trained volunteers, through one-to-one and group-based sessions. The coordinator will recruit, train and manage the DASH team of Asylum Guides.
As those who have gone through the UK asylum system will be central to this project’s delivery, we are particularly keen to hear from refugees.
To apply, please email maeve.l@huddsdash.org for a full job description and application form.
Applications are now open for ‘Responding to Covid-19 Online Summer Leadership Programme: UK Migration & Refugee Sector’. The programme provides the tools, skills and development to overcome challenges, and to foster relationships that benefit organisations and the sector as a whole. It enables people to reach their leadership potential, build resilience and grow peer support networks during these challenging and uncertain times, through online learning and/or coaching and/or Action Learning Sets.
Applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis, so please don’t delay sharing this email / sending your application. More details here bit.ly/3dterqq where you can also sign up for the Info and Q&A Webinar link on Eventbrite on Thurs 21 May, 2-3pm. The programme is co-designed and co-delivered by Clore Social Leadership and LEx Movement (Lived Experience Leaders Movement hosted by the Centre for Knowledge Equity).
The International Organization for Migration – UN Migration would like to invite you to attend our webinar “Engaging Migrant Communities in the Context of Covid-19: Lessons from the Field”. In this 90-minute webinar we will explore the importance of migrant community engagement, as learned in previous pandemic responses. This will include information on successful methodologies for engaging migrant communities during a pandemic, case studies detailing how culture informs pandemic responses, and further resources to help support the success of local COVID-19 response measures. To better facilitate a more interactive webinar, participation will be limited to 50 attendees per session. We will therefore be offering this webinar on a weekly basis to ensure all who are interested have an opportunity to attend. We have identified the first three dates available below, with additional dates subject to demand.
Dates and time and more information could be found here
Aviva have broadened the criteria of the Aviva Community Fund to include applications for projects that enable causes to adapt or continue their vital services by covering core running costs, so they can help their beneficiaries and communities during this time of need.
Applications are now open for the next round of the Aviva Community Fund until 5th May. Just click the link above to find out more, and to apply.
One Community Foundation for Kirklees has announced changes to their Coronavirus Fund. The grant making charity who is working with the National Emergency Trust to administer the fund, will now accept applications for up to £2,000 from Kirklees based charities and community groups who are responding to the Coronavirus crisis in Kirklees.
There is a new short form to complete, and applicants will need to supply a bank statement in the name of the group, and a copy of their constitution.
Previous applicants are welcome to apply again once they have completed a short evaluation form.
For example:
Organisations that support the on-going needs of vulnerable people to ensure that their health and wellbeing is maintained
Organisations in support of activities that relieve pressure on local statutory services, particularly emergency or health and social care provisions, or compliment their repose
Groups and activities that support vulnerable people self-isolating (the elderly, people with pre-existing medical conditions, etc.)
Support for food banks and organisations working to combat hardship caused by the pandemic, including child hunger
Community response co-ordination
Volunteer costs for new and existing organisations responding to the effects of the crisis
Additional costs of working remotely and adapting services delivered in the wider community
Additional support as required for emotional support, mental health and bereavement support
The fund is currently not accepting applications to counter the loss of income and fundraising.
In this post, we will keep you updated regarding the following services:
Health team, Education/children and young people team, voluntary sector, post decision, immigration advice, Mears, Migrant Help and Home Office.
Health
Whitehouse centre, NHS, TB and Health visiting team
Registered patients The practice is open but we are asking patients not to come to the practice. We are managing patients by phone. Anyone needing advice or assessment can call 03330436243 (8am to 6pm Monday to Friday). We are using telephone interpreters.
Asylum Seekers needing to register
Asylum seekers should continue to register. We have reduced the amount of paperwork required.
Ideally these could be completed by accommodation providers. In the email they could also alert us to any concerns and indicate if the client needs an urgent telephone call from us. Medication requests can be made by email (photograph boxes if not obvious what tablets are).
The crucial information we need is:
Name, DOB, Gender, Place of birth, Telephone number, Any previous address in the UK, Enough details of previous GP if there is one (so we do not create another record), Date of arrival in UK, Signature ideally (but not essentially given the situation if creates workload).
This form can be emailed to us at LCP.locala-WhitehouseCentre@nhs.net. If possible a scanned copy of any Home Office or Mears documentation is highly recommended. It will help us make sure we get the names and details correct.
Alternatively you can register on-line but we may also require supplementary information about medications etc
We will send the patient a text message when they have been registered to explain how to contact us.
Other queries Please feel free to email us if you have a question about a Kirklees asylum seeker and their health. Emergency matters can be assessed under ‘urgent and necessary care’ if the patient is not registered with us. This will be by phone initially.
NHS-CCG
“Appointments at your local doctors are now being held on the phone or online. If you have an appointment with a nurse or doctor they will contact you. Please do not walk into your doctors or health centre for any reason without being told to attend. If you have any health concerns you can use the NHS online tool which will help give advice https://111.nhs.uk/ before you call your doctors.”
Health Visiting: Business as usual. We continue to offer movement in visits, birth visits and Antenatal contacts face to face as long as the families are not self-isolating or showing any symptoms. We can skype the contact though. www.thrivingkirklees.org.uk/0-19-team T: 03033 309440
We are based within the Kirklees Education Safeguarding Service and support the children of Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Economic Migrants to access education.
Due to the Covid19 restrictions all school and home visits have been cancelled however we are still here to support parents/carers to access educational provision for their children via telephone and email.
The International New Arrival team are available to ensure that families are given support to manager the school admissions processes, register at a school or nursery, access free school meals for eligible families and apply for free school uniforms. We will also continue to support the communication between home and school and signpost to other services should this be required.
Updates on Free School Meals
Kirklees LA have agreed to pay every family £15 per child who is eligible for free school meals for the October break. The school your child attends will provide you with this voucher. If you require any advice or support please contact us by telephone 01484 221919 or via email Ess.inat@kirklees.gov.uk. One of the team will contact you with an interpreter if required therefore please give name of child, address and telephone number.
Date: 09/11/2020
Kirklees College has been closed.
Kirklees College is planning to re-open in September, however, there’s no specific dates yet especially for the ESOL courses.
They have now started to accept ESOL referrals since Oct.
Date: 09/11/2020
Voluntary Sector
In addition, some of the drop-in session of the voluntary sector organisation have been cancelled as well for now such as: 611, Reach and Connecting Opportunities.
However, there is a level of support available support locally specifically for asylum seekers via our fantastic Voluntary Sector:
Services: asylum casework, destitution support, welfare referrals. (Home Office, Migrant Help, Mears, Post Decision, Welcome Centre, Whitehouse Centre)
For updates: Twitter @DASH_ASYLUM_UK Facebook @DestituteAsylumSeekersHuddersfield
Dated: 26/11/2020
Volunteers Together Service: By telephone only 07804867564. When: 5 days a week Mon to Fri 10:00 till 16:00 Dated: 08/04/2020
Women’s Centre:
Service: Over the phone only 01484 450866 for women aged 18+ When: Calls from 9 until 4 (answer machine available outside this time) Please leave a message if the phone is busy and your call be returned as soon as is convenient. Offering emotional support over the phone and online groups such as relaxation, confidence groups, relationship groups, dance movement and music therapy, alongside drop-ins where you can come to an online group and chat about your day over a cuppa. Specialist support for mothers living apart from their children, women in exile drop-in for new migrant women, specialist support for young women aged 11-25, the STAGE project specialist support for women over 16 years of age who have experienced sexual abuse and grooming. Low cost Counselling available and private paid counselling available on request.
New referrals can made by ringing the main number above- Self referrals and referrals by professionals are welcome.
Dated: 09/11/2020
Welcome Centre
The Welcome Centre can help anyone resident in South Kirklees who is struggling to afford to buy food. (If the client is from North Kirklees we can give details of organisations who can assist.)
As a food bank we obviously offer food but we can supply more than just food!
Our referral line 01484 340034 is open Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm, any professional working with an individual or family can make the referral. At present we are delivering directly to the client address, the next working day after the referral is made. All drivers are DBS checked and will deliver adhering to Government guidelines.The Welcome Centre stock Items: We can supply the following via telephone referral
· Food parcels (to suit available cooking facilities and dietary requirements) · Toiletry packs (soap, toilet rolls, toothbrush & toothpaste, razors, deodorant & shaving foam and sanitary items) · Cleaning Pack (Washing up liquid, dish cloth, sponge and J-Cloths) · Towels Pack (bath, hand and flannel) · Pair of Curtains (limited sizes available) · Duvet Quilt (new or clean and washed) · Bedding Pack (Duvet cover and sheet + pillowcases) · Pillow (1 for single, 2 for double bed) · PAT tested kettle and Toaster (if available) · Home Starter Pack (Crockery, cutlery and pans, can opener, sharp knife, tea towels, laundry powder)
To see the referral information poster please click here
Updated: 09/11/2020
Connecting Opportunities
We are open for new CO referrals now. Anyone who is aged 22 and over and has a right to live and work in UK and has arrived in UK as a refugee or migrant can apply by going onto Migration Yorkshire website through online application for Connecting Opportunities or they can call Bary Malik on 07879 636427 .
Apart from weekly WhatsApp English classes we are also offering wellbeing workshops. for more details regarding those classes please contact Bary on the same number above. Date: 26/11/2020
Welcome Mentors
Are now providing a “Telephone Welcome Mentors” service. – Translating important information to people whose first language is not English. – Support – Befriending referrals assisting them by completing regular telephone communications to support the individuals wellbeing. This may also include text and Whats App. We have the new link on line at Volunteering Kirklees. https://volunteeringkirklees.org.uk/job/telephone-welcome-mentor/ Dated: 07/07/2020
Meet try and learn
The project will return when social distancing measures are removed. Dated: 07/07/2020
This Way 4 English
We are now offering over the phone Assessments – please contact Anita on 07425444080 via phone , text or WhatsApp.
Free Zoom ESOL Classrooms
WhatsApp your Zoom teacher Saira on 07776 588698 for more information Dated: 07/07/2020
Legal Advice
KirkleesCitizens Advice and Law Centre – KCALC: Cases by phone only: 03448487970 or via the Contact Form on the website www.kcalc.org.uk Dated: 10/11/2020
Job Centre
JCP has been open to the public since the past 3 months now.
However, we are only open for;
Necessary and urgent pre-booked appointments only.
All other appointments are being completed via phone.
Claimants are able to enter JCP offices to use our computers to look and apply for jobs or to make their UC claim online There may be time restrictions applicable during busy periods so people may have to wait outside or comeback at a given time to use these services.
Post Decision Team: Due to the current Covid-19 situation, the Customer Service Centres are only dealing with those who are homeless on the day. Please do not present at Customer Service Centres, instead call the team on 01484 221350 and ask for “Housing Solutions”. A member of the team will then make contact with you. The Post Decision cases need to make a claim for mainstream benefits. They will continue to receive financial support until their benefits have come through. However, once they have received their first payment they must inform the Home Office, to avoid any overpayments being made. Dated: 09/07/2020
Refugee Council has been calling on the government to protect people seeking asylum and refugees at risk due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. We are particularly concerned for people who are unable to access accommodation or support, those on limited support and those in shared accommodation who may be unable to self-isolate.
This page provides a summary of the government’s response to date, noting key temporary changes to asylum and resettlement policy and practice. Information will be updated on a daily basis. Last updated at 10:00am, on 3rd July 2020
The Home Office are still registering asylum claims (though some people have reported difficulties getting their claims registered). If people do not claim asylum at the port of entry, screening interviews usually take place at the Asylum Intake Unit in Croydon (south London).
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, the Home Office are now also doing some asylum screening interviews in Glasgow, Belfast (which was already a screening interview location if you arrived to the UK in Northern Ireland), Liverpool, Leeds, Solihull and Cardiff.
Substantive (big) asylum interview
The Home Office have now (since July) begun doing some asylum interviews by video call. The Home Office were already using video link for some asylum interviews prior to the Coronavirus crisis. The Home Office are prioritising people who live closest to the video interview facilities (to reduce the need for travel). They intend to begin face-to-face interviews again at a later date.
Further submissions (fresh claims)
Previously, most people who wanted to submit further evidence to be considered as a fresh claim (read more in the Right to Remain Toolkit here) had to go and do this in person in Liverpool.
This requirement has been stopped for now – there are no face-to-face appointments in Liverpool taking place
You can submit further evidence by post or email.
The Home Office prefer evidence to be sent by email but this will not be possible for everyone.
Remember if you are sending it yourself (without the help of a lawyer), you will need to explain who you are, and what the evidence is, and how it amounts to a fresh claim – do not just send the evidence without explanation.
The details for sending the evidence are:
Postal address:
Further Submissions Unit The Capital Building Old Hall Street Liverpool L3 9PP
E-mail address:
CSUEC@homeoffice.gov.uk
You do not need to contact the Further Submissions Unit by telephone first – you can just email your evidence, along with a completed further submissions form. For an explanation of the questions the form asks, see the Right to Remain Toolkit section on fresh claims.
The maximum size of attachment (the documents you are sending) to the email is 20MB, you can send multiple emails if you will go over this amount. It would be useful to connect the multiple emails by saying in the email, for example “this is email 1 of 5”; “this is email 2 of 5.”
If you want to know about the progress of a fresh claim/further submissions you have already submitted, you can email the Home Office at csupostteam@homeoffice.gov.uk
A new guidance has been published on the resumption of substantive interviews. to read the full document please click here
If you click here you can read the answers to questions submitted at a recent Home Office event that Migration Yorkshire attended regarding interviews
Mears updates Business as usual When seeking asylum, you may be living in a shared house or flat, or you may be living in a bigger building with other residents.
Mears Housing Management has the government contract to provide accommodation and support for asylum seekers in Kirklees. When you arrive in your Mears accommodation, you will get details of your Housing Manager or Resident Welfare Manager who will make regular visits to your accommodation. Dated: 24/11/2020
Migrant Help
“Migrant Help has one main national Freephone helpline number, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for all our clients.
We provide interpreters in any language. The number is : 0808 8010 503
Please be aware that if any service users are self-isolating during the grace period when their support is due to end, whether following positive or negative decision, please raise with Migrant Help to request an extension and email us all details too and we will escalate on.
Abed.Moubayed@kirklees.gov.uk or MigrationAndResettlement@kirklees.gov.uk
