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About RESTORE

Restore is a project of Birmingham Churches Together which seeks to help, welcome, and support refugees and asylum seekers.

NEW! - Restore on Facebook

Who is fleeing persecution and seeking sanctuary?

Please join Restore, a project of Birmingham Churches Together
supporting refugees and people seeking sanctuary
for 3 information and training sessions
for those interested in asylum issues or
in training to become befrienders of refugess and those seeking sanctuary

AFTERNOON COURSE
on Thursdays 19 and 26 September
and 3 October 2013
2.00 — 4.00pm
at BMS: International Mission Centre 24 Weoley Park Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6QX

EVENING COURSE
on Thursdays 7, 14 and 21 November 2013
7.30 - 9.30pm
at St George’s Community Hub, Great Hampton Row, Newtown, B19 3JG

Restore’s training is offered to all those who are interested in becoming volunteer befrienders of asylum seekers and refugees. Anyone wishing to gather further information on asylum and refugee issues is also welcome. (NB There is no obligation to volunteer with Restore at the end of the course!)

Week one:
introduction to Restore and an overview of asylum issues, exposing some of the media myths about asylum, introduction to befriending and hearing the personal experience of a befriender

Week two:
introduction to the asylum application process and hearing the first-hand experience of a refugee

Week three:
the practicalities of befriending including guidelines, qualities, boundaries, cross cultural issues and the support offered to volunteers

All sessions include interactive elements

“Befrienders are excellent at providing the invisible things like just showing you around, being a friend, providing company, giving you a feeling of normal life.”
- Quote from an asylum seeker

To book a place contact Jeremy Thompson (Befriending Co-ordinator of RESTORE) — 0121 236 0069 or befriend@restore-uk.org

Flyer - training in Autumn 2013

RESTORE acts in response to the Biblical teaching to welcome the stranger and to provide justice for the oppressed. One of the most marginalised, misunderstood and misrepresented groups in our society today is asylum seekers. These people are claiming asylum due to fear of persecution in their home countries..

Since October 2000 RESTORE has been part of 'Birmingham Churches Together' and thus an instrument for the churches across the city in their concern for these marginalised people.

RESTORE's mission is:

to encourage friendship and build resources, primarily through the church network in Birmingham and Solihull, to support asylum seekers and refugees;
to enable refugees and asylum seekers to make a valued contribution to society;
to work to raise awareness, change attitudes and challenge prejudice in the host community.

What does RESTORE do?

RESTORE’s key areas of activity are:

befriending by local volunteers on a one-to-one basis
hosting social activities for families and adults
raising awareness within the host community, especially through the church network
working together with other refugee agencies
advocating on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers.
All these activities are explored further on other web pages.

How did RESTORE begin?

RESTORE was started in 1999, when churches in the Ladywood and Edgbaston area saw a need and were motivated to take action. Up to that point, most asylum seekers had been accommodated in London and the South East, but a new government policy of dispersal sought to house them more evenly across the country. This led to a significant increase in new arrivals in Birmingham.

Since October 2000, RESTORE has been a project of Birmingham Churches Together and thus an instrument for the churches across the city to act to support these marginalised people.