We are extremely thankful for the ongoing support of our legal firms:
We also seek to complement our legal advice by referral to and working with other organisations serving asylum seekers. If you are an asylum seeker requiring practical and/or emotional support, please see below for more information on local organisations providing these services.
LASSN (Leeds Asylum Seeker Support Network)
LASSN offers one-to-one befriending and English at Home tuition using trained volunteer befrienders and tutors. They also provide support to Refugee Community Organisations and Short Stop volunteer hosting for destitute asylum seekers and refugees.
PAFRAS (Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers)
PAFRAS runs two drop-ins per week for destitute asylum seekers; providing hot food, food parcels, clothes and hygiene packs. The drop-in is held on Tuesdays between 10:00 and 12:30 and Thursdays between 10:00 and 13:20 at St Aidan’s Community Hall, off Roundhay Road, in Harehills, Leeds. They also have two part-time caseworkers and run twice weekly drop-in Sessions (consultations, screenings, assessments and referrals to appropriate mental health and support services), crisis and short-term counselling, complementary therapy sessions for stress relief and managing anxiety and depression, and mental health group support.
Refugee Council Yorkshire and Humber
The Refugee Council is a national independent organisation with many years of experience working with asylum seekers and refugees. They provide a wide range of services free of charge, in many different languages. The Refugee Council One Stop Service in Yorkshire and Humberside can assist with many issues relating to subsistence and accommodation, and explaining the government system.
RETAS (Refugee Education Training Advice Service)
RETAS Leeds offers information, advice and guidance on education, training and employment for refugees and asylum seekers. Their specialities include: professional re-qualification (doctors, teachers, nurses, engineers, etc), university applications, job search skills and support, and ESOL provision at all levels. They have a drop-in and an appointments advice service, and offer outreach services across the region.
Solace is a charity offering counselling and psychotherapy to asylum seekers and refugees in Leeds, with a small-scale service in Bradford. Interpreters are used for most counselling sessions. They have two full-time therapists, four part-time therapists and 18 volunteer therapists.
MATT (Meet and Travel Together)
Meet and Travel Together aims to reduce stress and anxiety for asylum seekers needing to make their way to Waterside Court in Kirkstall, Leeds, for a Home Office Interview or Fresh Claim submission, an asylum case hearing at Phoenix House in Thornbury, Bradford, or a biometric scan at one of the post offices in Leeds. They will do their best to link each asylum seeker with someone who speaks their language but this isn’t always possible.
City of Sanctuary is a national movement of groups, businesses, organisations and individuals who have all pledged to welcome asylum seekers and refugees to our cities and communities. Their Welcome to Leeds project was created to address issues of isolation when asylum seekers arrive in Leeds by matching them with a volunteer who can introduce them to the City.
Leeds Skyline provides support services for anyone living with or affected by HIV in Leeds. They help people take control over their own lives with the knowledge and skills to make decisions that are appropriate to them. They also provide information on people’s rights to a healthy and satisfying life, intimacy and relationships, free from stigma and discrimination.
AJAR (Asylum Justice and Release Leeds)
Ajar is a network of people in Leeds, often from faith communities, seeking to help people currently in detention who have a valid case for applying for bail.
Meeting point offers weekly Drop-ins on Mondays (term time) 3pm – 6pm @ Christ Church. At these Drop-ins they offer a nearly new shop, help desk and English classes. They also offer appointments for help or support with anything please contact us every Wednesday from 10 am – 2 pm.
The Free Movement blog provides updates, pointers and links for the benefit of other immigration Lawyers, Caseworkers and migrants researching their own position. You can subscribe to the blog by email, RSS feed, Kindle or via the website. Emails are sent out a maximum of once per day, but in fact rarely more than two or three times per week.