We are pleased to announce the launch of our guidance resource ‘Supporting Refugees and Asylum Seekers to Volunteer’.
This resource, co-produced with Bristol City Council, City of Sanctuary and Refugee Welcome Homes with input from Bristol Refugee and Asylum Seeker Partnership Organisations aims to upskill volunteer managers across the VCSE sector and empower them to better support sanctuary seekers looking to volunteer.
‘The ask for this resource came directly from volunteer coordinators we have been supporting through our Vision for Volunteering project. They told us that they wanted to be better equipped to support a range of people who might be interested in volunteering, and after the success of co-producing an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Volunteering resource the next thing people wanted was more tailored advice about supporting refugees and asylum seekers to volunteer. This felt particularly important as at the time the previous government were consulting on a ‘move’ to ‘earning settled status’ and were considering including volunteering within proposed changes (read our statement on this here).
After bringing people together at a Volunteer Organisers Forum, an incredibly helpful session from Bristol City of Sanctuary and a Q&A panel where we heard from volunteer managers working for Bristol Refugee Welcome Homes, Bristol Refugee Rights and Bristol Hospitality Network it was time to loop in our Bristol City Council colleagues and set to work!
Volunteering can bring huge social, wellbeing and economic benefits to the individuals that volunteer – whether these are felt immediately or long after a placement ends. It is important that all members of society can benefit from volunteering, should they wish to. In addition, a diverse volunteer pool makeup, that is reflective of local communities, brings a range of crucial ideas, skills and talents to a team or organisation. Finally with volunteering rates lower than before (and 40% of VCSE organisations in Bristol recently reported they are struggling to recruit the volunteers they need) many VCSE organisations are in desperate need of more support.
We want to stress that this resource has not been created because refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are not already volunteering. Nor has it been created because the government thinks they should be. In Bristol many people volunteer in many ways, within many different communities, and alongside many different people. What has been recognised, by volunteer coordinators and VCSE organisations, is that people from a refugee, asylum seeker or migrant background are underrepresented in volunteering, and there is recognition that small, powerful changes in practice could make volunteering more inclusive and welcoming.’
Sarah Hickie, VCSE Development Advisor
You can read our Supporting Refugees and Asylum Seekers to Volunteer Resource here.
