In recent weeks, we’ve been helping many more asylum seekers, particularly those living in hostel accommodations in the west of Hertfordshire. Your generous donations have helped us to provide clothing vouchers and other goods to people who’ve recently arrived without many possessions or warm clothing.

We have been doing our best to meet the most pressing needs of the newest arrivals. These have included the newly resettled families (some Afghan), the Afghan nationals in the hotel we are helping at, as well as some of those seeking asylum in the hostel. All of the donated mobile phones have now been given out, and these have been a lifeline in enabling refugees and asylum seekers to access help and information, as well as to remain in touch with friends and family.

We have been struggling with capacity recently, so if you would like to be involved on a short term basis, we are looking for people who could help by transporting goods or furniture. We also need volunteers to collect and deliver bikes, please contact Adrian@hwsf.org.uk about this.

We recently had good news that two philanthropic landlords have come forward to offer accommodation to families. We are acutely aware that some of the Afghan families in our area have been in hotel accommodation for a while now, particularly those with larger families. This is not ideal and we will continue to advocate for long-term housing solutions from government while supporting these families.

We are currently preparing holiday gifts for the refugee families and individuals who are supported by Herts Welcomes Refugees. We hope that this financial assistance will help the families to enjoy the Christmas season.

Recently, our donations platform closed, so we would ask that any donations now be made directly to our bank account:

Herts Welcomes Refugees
Sort code 20 05 73
Account number 80585378

Or, if you prefer to make an online transfer, please visit the CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) link here: https://www.cafonline.org/system/charity-search-results
Just type in ‘Herts Welcomes Refugees’

As ever, we appreciate your support and would like to send our warmest wishes to you this Christmas.

Finally, we wanted to share Area Convenor Catherine Henderson’s words about the Government’s refugee policy, in light of the recent tragedies in the Channel:
“The Government’s Nationality and Borders Bill, currently making its way through parliament, proposes that those entering the country via irregular routes will not receive the same protection and entitlements as those brought here under resettlement schemes. But it is the dangers that people are fleeing from that should determine their need for protection, not the means by which they come here. These proposals are unjust and will do nothing to make people’s journeys to seek sanctuary here safer. We urgently need a system based on fairness and compassion to prevent further deaths in the Channel.”
​
If you would like to write to your MP about the bill’s flaws and defend the right to asylum:
www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/borders-bill-will-be-victory-people-smugglers-tell-your-mp-expose-its-flaws?fbclid=IwAR3fyVmy446cJphI-Z1W4OusJt5m49bdmwBkJ9DwVWSLIbTHWW717jlOs7Q

We continue to work with Herts County Council to support the Afghan refugees currently in Hertfordshire. Over the past two weeks, we’ve had a daily presence at one of the hotels where we are supporting the Red Cross. We’ve been meeting with the families and the other involved organisations to figure out how best to offer support. We’ve also been helping to distribute various goods, and assisting with logistics and activities.
 
We have now distributed most of the Smart Phones donated by our supporters — and will soon be distributing more. These phones are so important, particularly as one of the refugees’ main concerns is for the people they’ve left behind in Afghanistan.

Our partners, Herts for Refugees, collected pushchairs, and we helped with the distribution of these which open up greater opportunities for families to go out and explore the area. We are supporting Community Action Dacorum who are providing activities for the children which include regular craft/messy play sessions and trips to a local park.

One of our volunteers supported Herts Sports Partnership with football matches for the children, which both the boys and girls enjoyed immensely.

We’re pleased that the educational department is providing family learning sessions and is addressing the needs of children whose English is at a higher level.  We are working with Community Action Dacorum who will be providing ESOL (English for Speakers of Foreign Languages) for adults who want to learn or improve their English.

We are relieved that the government has announced that both the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme will receive funding for three years rather than one. This funding will make a big difference to councils, who will be more likely to offer places to families. Many of the families currently in Hertfordshire are only here temporarily, until housing can be found for them, but we expect to offer long-term support to at least 20 Afghan families who will settle permanently in Hertfordshire.

We really want to thank all of our supporters who have made donations or offered mobile phones. We’re also grateful to our volunteers who’ve been putting in so much effort and time. A number of new volunteers have recently come forward and we’re looking forward to working with them. Our volunteer coordinator Caroline has been very busy speaking to new volunteers, holding inductions, and organising DBS checks. Over the past few weeks, we’ve also been occupied with responding to close to a hundred messages on our website, some offering help and others requiring it.

We will continue supporting Hertfordshire County Council, the Red Cross and other aid organisations by working with them to improve the process of identifying and responding to a range of wider needs.

We appreciate your support and good wishes at this time, and again thank you for your generous donations!

​You can make a donation via Virgin Giving or directly to our bank account:
Herts Welcomes Refugees
Sort code 20 05 73
Account number 80585378