Refugees at Home

Refugees at Home is an independent charity which finds temporary accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers with host families in the UK.

By the end of 2022 Refugees at Home had arranged hosts for over 4000 refugees and asylum seekers fleeing war and persecution from more than 70 countries.[1]

People

Refugees at Home was set up in 2016 by Sara Nathan, Timothy Nathan and Nina Kaye as a response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis.

The charity is led by Executive Director Lauren Scott, who was awarded an MBE in 2022 in recognition of her work for refugees.[2] It is chaired by Daniel Gerring, partner at law firm Travers Smith, who provide ongoing support. Its patrons include Lord Alf Dubs and comedian Shappi Khorsandi. It currently has c20 staff, supported by a large number of volunteers.

Refugees at Home relies on its network of qualified volunteer home visitors who assess homes and hosts,[3] and the many British hosts who offer to provide temporary accommodation. There are 12,000 people registered to host through Refugees at Home.[4][5][6]

Work

Refugees at Home matches British hosts with a spare room to refugees and asylum seekers in need of somewhere to stay.

The charity uses professionally qualified home visitors to assess potential hosts and to carefully match hosts to guests. It also provides an ongoing link and support in order to give placements the best chance of success.[7][8]

Refugees at Home works closely with a range of partners such as the British Red Cross, Refugee Council, Refugee Action, Crisis (charity) and NACCOM,[9] who refer guests for hosting.

Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Refugees at Home has been one of the UK government's 'Recognised Providers' helping to find sponsors for refugees under the Homes for Ukraine scheme[10][11]

Profile

Refugees at Home received widespread media coverage in September 2020 when former English footballer and BBC broadcaster, Gary Lineker, worked with the charity to host a refugee.[12] After being confronted on Twitter about his personal response to the refugee crisis, Mr Lineker responded with a picture of the charity's confirmation that he had signed up to host.[13] Lineker received a letter of thanks from Rasheed, a Pakistani refugee who stayed with him for 20 days, which he said 'made it worthwhile'.[14][15][16]

More recently, British actor Benedict Cumberbatch was widely reported for talking about his desire to host Ukrainian refugees through Refugees at Home.[17] His work with the charity was featured in Hello! Magazine’s ‘Kind List’ in November 2022.[18]

British television presenter and Countdown host Rachel Riley has also hosted through Refugees at Home, describing the charity’s work as ‘life-changing’.[19]

Refugees at Home's overall aim is for hosting to be normalised as a way of welcoming those fleeing war and persecution in other countries to the UK.

See also

References
  1. Refugees at Home Impact Report, 2022 "Our Impact". Refugees At Home.
  2. The Gazette (2022) New Years Honours List 2023 New Years Honours List 2023
  3. Professional Social Work (2022) 'Helping to Make a Home for Ukrainians', April 2022
  4. Jewish World (2022) 'Caroline Baum reports on a program that has seen 12,000 British citizens put up their hands to take in Ukrainian families', 9 August 2022
  5. Refugees at Home Impact Report, 2022 "Our Impact". Refugees At Home.
  6. New Yorker (2022) 'The Ukrainians Living in British Spare Rooms' Anna Russell, 2 July 2022
  7. Hansard House of Commons debate (14 March 2022) vol 710 col 633
  8. The Telegraph (2022) 'Adults hosting Ukrainian families must undergo 'advanced checks'', 17 March 2022
  9. The No Accommodation Network, Get Involved
  10. UK Government Guidance (2023) Homes for Ukraine: Find a Sponsor Using Recognised Providers
  11. "Homes for Ukraine refugee scheme launches in UK". BBC News. 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  12. The Guardian (2020) "Gary Lineker due to welcome refugee to live with him 'within weeks'". The Guardian. September 2, 2020.
  13. https://twitter.com/GaryLineker/status/1293578682796322817
  14. Fricker, Martin; Troughton, Adrian (October 30, 2020). "Lineker given moving 'thank you' by refugee he housed". LeicestershireLive.
  15. "What's it like to have a refugee come and live with you?". The Independent. September 3, 2020.
  16. "Refugee who stayed with Gary Lineker speaks out on living at BBC star's house". Daily Mirror. 18 March 2023.
  17. Variety (2020) [https://variety.com/2022/film/news/benedict-cumberbatch-ukraine-refugees-home-1235253414/ 'Benedict Cumberbatch Is Housing a Ukrainian Family That Fled the War: ‘I Want to Give Them Stability’ 28 April 2022
  18. "Benedict Cumberbatch". HELLO!. 2022-11-11. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  19. "Ukrainian refugees who fled to UK shocked to learn 'amazing' hosts are famous couple – Refugees at Home".
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