This year, 2025, is a Jubilee Year in the Catholic Church with the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ and it seems that the virtue of Hope is very necessary in today’s world. There are many challenges in life both at home and abroad. Famine, war, climate change, cost of living pressures and divisions in society, often fuelled by intolerance of others. Pope Francis has said: ‘In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future will bring.’ We are all invited to be pilgrims of true Hope and share it with others.
The recent developments in Syria have meant that the Home Office has suspended making decisions on Syrian asylum seekers. This will result in a time of uncertainty for many of our Syrian clients. At the Refugee Project, we aim to provide a warm welcome and a listening ear to all our clients as they navigate their varied and difficult situations. This could not happen without the generous contributions of food and finance from parishes, individuals and schools and the support of our team of dedicated volunteers. Thank you to you all! We are incredibly grateful for all your support and encourage you to continue to support us this year.
During December, the project was very busy. Our clients were pleased to have the opportunity to relax and socialise in the warmth during the chilly weather. Your generosity also helped make it possible for us to distribute extra Christmas gift cards – either £5.00 or £10.00, depending on each client’s circumstances – which were very much appreciated. We were also pleased to receive donations from Aldi in Fawdon and Westerhope which meant that more fresh food items were available to our clients.
We received some good news in relation to our clients who have been given refugee status recently. Previously, clients who were granted ‘leave to remain’ were only given a very short time to move out of asylum accommodation once they were given refugee status which resulted in some of our clients facing homelessness. In a recent change, the Home Office is now allowing clients 56 days to find accommodation, which will give them the time to find alternative accommodation. A representative from the Council continues to visit the project every Wednesday to meet with clients who need support with finding accommodation.
Getting the right advice is crucial to our clients and we regularly signpost them to agencies who can offer the advice that they need. The project recently participated in a Welcome to Newcastle session for asylum seekers which took place in the Discovery Museum. Various charities and organisations were present and a significant number of attendees were our clients, who were able to explore the different services available in the Newcastle area. On a less positive note, Reed in Partnership an organisation that has been advising clients on employability and training opportunities are no longer able to offer their services due to government cuts.
We receive donations of food, clothing and footwear on Mondays between 10.30am and 1.30pm. The Project re-opens to clients after Christmas on Monday 6 January. Items most urgently needed can be found here.
We continue to rely on the generosity of individuals and parishes for donations for which we are incredibly grateful. As we continue to support more than 500 clients and their families each month, financial support for our work is also essential. Details of our bank account (DHN Justice & Peace Refugee Project) can be found on our webpage. Please consider Gift-Aiding your donation, if possible, it makes a big difference. You can download and submit a Gift-Aid Declaration form for a single or multiple donation. Visit our Donate and Gift Aid page now.
For more details about our work and how you can assist, please contact our Project Co-ordinator by email: jp.refugeeproject@diocesehn.org.uk or visit our webpage.