Forest Hill & Sydenham Welcomes Refugees (FHSWR) is a group of local residents of Forest Hill and Sydenham who have decided to work together towards the community sponsorship of a refugee family.
Globally, there are now over 65 million people who have been forced to leave there homes due to conflict, persecution or human rights violations. Over 25 million of these are official refugees, 5.5 million of whom have fled the war in Syria and are suffering the loss, discomfort, uncertainty and indignity of being homeless in a foreign country.
‘Community sponsorship’ is an official Government scheme run by the Home Office. It is a way for local communities to be directly involved in helping refugees settle in the UK.
As community sponsors, we will commit to provide emotional and practical support to empower a resettled family to rebuild their lives and to become self-sufficient members of their new community. This will include:
• finding appropriate housing
• providing a warm welcome and cultural orientation
• supporting access to medical and social services
• support to access education and English language tuition
• help to navigate social welfare provision
• support towards employment and self-sufficiency.
The family will be either refugees from the Syrian conflict who are stuck in camps or cities in the Middle East, or will be ‘at risk’ children and their family members who have fled conflicts in the Middle East or North African regions.
In June 2019 the Government announced that families who are resettled through community sponsorship will be counted in addition to government resettlement numbers.
FHSWR are affiliated with Sponsor Refugees, a project of Citizens UK, who exist to promote community sponsorship of refugees, and to support groups through each step of the sponsorship process.
Funds raised on this page will go directly to Citizens UK who will pass them on to us at FHSWR (with added gift-aid if the donor is a UK tax payer).
Refugee families in over-crowded camps need our help more than ever now with the disruption and danger caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Please donate to bring a family to safety.