The news recently has been dominated by the death of Pope Francis. It is widely recognised that Pope Francis championed the cause of the marginalised, the poor and of refugees and asylum seekers. In his final message on Easter Sunday, he continued to advocate for those on the margins of society, saying ‘How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalised, and migrants! On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas. For all of us are children of God!’
At the Justice and Peace Refugee Project, we provide a warm welcome to asylum seekers from many places across the world, with new clients registering every week. In March this year, 468 individuals and families were supported by the project. Your continued donations of food, toiletries and finance continue to be extremely welcome. We also continue to source fresh produce from local supermarkets, which is gratefully received by clients.
In addition to providing clients with food and toiletries and working with the SVP to help clients access good quality second hand clothing and household items, the project also provides a monthly supermarket voucher of £45 to those clients whose asylum claim has been refused, with no government support. The North of England Refugee Service, an independent and charitable organisation which exists to meet the needs and promote the interests of asylum seekers and refugees who have arrived or have settled in the North of England, has recently referred several of these clients to us. Azad, our Project Co-ordinator also works with agencies to further develop our ability to signpost clients to receiving support. Recently, he met with Justice First who we are pleased have agreed to assist clients in need of legal aid.
For some time now on Wednesdays, a barber has been offering haircuts to clients free of charge. This is hugely valued by our clients and he is always very busy. Unfortunately, he had to stop this service recently due to medical reasons. Last week, one of our clients kindly stepped in and provided haircuts and we are hopeful that we will be able to continue this service in the future.
We are very grateful for the support of our local schools. Recently, we were thrilled to receive very generous food and clothing donations from St Robert of Newminster Catholic School in Washington. Our Project Co-ordinator, Azad, was pleased to be welcomed by staff and pupils at the school to receive their donations.
As you may be aware, there is another Bank Holiday in May, on Monday 26 May, so the project will not be open for deliveries. However, we will be available to receive deliveries on Fridays during these weeks should you wish to bring donations in.
We continue to rely on the generosity of individuals and parishes for donations for which we are incredibly grateful. Items most urgently needed can be found here.
As we continue to support so many 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.