Refugee Week 2025 is taking place from 16 to 22 June and the theme this year is Community. Communities can bring people together, bridging divides and offering support. They can become spaces of resilience and places for healing. Author and activist Gloria Jean Watkins (pen name – bell hooks) wrote, “We can begin the process of making community wherever we are.
We can begin by sharing a smile, a warm greeting, a bit of conversation; by doing a kind deed or by acknowledging kindness offered to us.” During Refugee Week we are invited to spend time with friends and build new connections in and beyond our neighbourhoods and to share the feelings of welcome and belonging.
At the Refugee Project, we will be celebrating Refugee Week jointly with the SVP with activities planned for our clients. Download the Refugee Week poster here. In addition to providing food and toiletries, staff and volunteers always encourage clients to feel welcome and to stay and socialise. At the centre, clients can relax, enjoy the company of others and there are also play areas for the children. Clients can also access wi-fi and English lessons and have their hair cut during their visits.
During Refugee Week this year, please consider donating food, toiletries and finance which are all very much needed. We continue to support nearly 500 individuals and families and we could not provide this support without your generous donations.
As you may be aware, many of our clients wait a long time, sometimes years, to receive decisions on their asylum claims and this is a stressful time for them. It is always a cause for celebration when a client is granted leave to remain and we have been very pleased that several of our clients have recently received a positive decision. One of our destitute ‘white card’ clients has been living in limbo since 2009 and has eventually been given leave to remain. He expressed great gratitude to the project and volunteers who have supported him for 15 years.
The Refugee Project is always looking for ways to spread the word about its work and particularly to develop partnerships with schools. We are very pleased to have been invited to share a presentation about the work that we do to a school leaders’ conference in June.
The project relies on the generous time given by our volunteers who fulfil a range of roles (there are currently 44). We are always keen to hear from new people who might like to get involved in volunteering and making a difference to the lives of the clients who visit us. It is important for us to keep our numbers up, as volunteers have holidays, get ill or sometimes have other commitments. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact our Project Co-ordinator.
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.