Press Release – 30th August 2021
Reading Refugee Support Group has been supporting refugees and asylum seekers from across the world for over 26 years. We have worked in partnership with Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire Borough Councils for the past five years supporting refugees from Syria. We have helped people register with GP and schools, find English lessons, jobs, homework clubs and assisting families to settled here and integrate into our communities.
RRSG has supported many refugees coming from Afghanistan over recent years, but current events in Kabul highlighted by the media have now brought the reality of the tragedy into everyone’s front rooms. At the same time, numbers of asylum seekers from other parts of the world are arriving in the UK are being accommodated in Berkshire by the Home Office.
Reading Refugee Support Group will stand by and support all asylum seekers and refugees. We offer casework support to those seeking asylum, and we need to put in place mental health support not currently funded by the Home Office for those living in hotels who are 500% more likely than the rest of the UK population to have mental health needs.
RRSG is working with other partners to step up support at this critical time. From the many calls made to us, we are aware that people want to help, but they don’t know how.
How You Can Help
- Please do not donate clothes. We have been inundated with donations of clothes and food, and we are are incredibly grateful for all of the generosity, but we do not have the storage capacity to accept any more. Thank you.
- Some people have offered houses and flats to Afghan refugees. This is a fantastic offer. RRSG will coordinate with the local authorities and pass on your details. Please email details about your property to: accommodation@rrsg.org.uk
- Many people want to volunteer as translators. Would you please let us know your contact details and what languages you are proficient in? We will put you on our database and will call you as soon as we are able. Email: volunteer@rrsg.org.uk
- We also have a database for people who want to volunteer to be a Befriender or help teach English. Email: volunteer@rrsg.org.uk
- RRSG needs your financial support. If 1,000 people in Berkshire donated the equivalent of a cup of coffee a month, we could employ another vitally needed advice caseworker during this Afghan emergency.
Please support RRSG’s response to the Afghanistan Crisis by making a £5 monthly donation, or whatever you can afford: rrsg.org.uk/donate
Alternatively, please consider pledging to our Big Give campaign to provide support for Afghan refugees and your donation could be quadrupled. Find our more here: https://rrsg.org.uk/the-big-give-christmas-challenge-2021/
Contact
For further information, please contact:
Nick Harborne – CEO – nick@rrsg.org.uk – 01189 505 356
Jonjo Warrick – Fundraising & Communications Manager – jonjo@rrsg.org.uk – 01189 505 356
