RESTORE - Support for refugees and asylum seekers in Birmingham UK

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

Equipping refugees for work - update

Restore has been awarded a grant by the Birmingham and Black Country Community Foundation from the European Social Fund (ESF). The grant is to develop a programme to equip refugees for work. This project was launched in December 2011.

So far 16 refugees have joined this project which runs until the end of November 2012. We have 9 more places available for people with refugee status or leave to remain and permission to work who are unemployed or not working for more than 8 hours per week.

The next meeting to be held on Thursday 19 January 2012 from 7.15pm at St Georges Community Hub, Great Hampton Row, Newtown, Birmingham, B19 3JG will look at the topic:

Writing a C.V

At the meeting on 19 January, Sue Bains will be giving input from her experience as an HR (Human Resources) professional. So you will hear what an employer wants to see on a CV. Sue will talk about: What is a CV? How does an employer use a CV? What makes a CV ‘stand out’ from others? There will be interactive work to help you identify skills that can be included on a CV and the opportunity to start work on a skills based CV. You will be asked to do further work on the CV after the meeting and then email it to Restore – then Sue will give you some feedback. The event will be interactive. (If you already have a CV then please bring it with you and we hope that you will get some ideas about how you can improve it).

We are still looking for some more volunteers to act as mentors, if you can help, please contact Jeremy Thompson

We hope that you can join us.

Jeremy Thompson, Befriending Coordinator
email: befriend@restore-uk.org

Press Release flyer

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.

Charity Number and Donations

The Restore charity number is 243931

Should you wish to make a donation towards the work of RESTORE,
please make your cheque payable to:

Help and support for asylum seekers and refugees in Birmingham UK - “Restore”