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Nationwide the UK work visa sponsorship system is putting people at risk of exploitation and modern slavery. Individuals on a Health and Care Worker visa currently face an acute risk, demonstrated by national reports and high-profile cases, including locally within Cornwall.
With thanks to the Cornwall Community Foundation, in December we received a small grant to distribute to workers at risk of homelessness and destitution, due to having no recourse to public funds and being unable to avail of mainstream support. Working in partnership with Rice and Peas Community, faith communities and individuals, we were able to support 24 individuals through our Small Grant Fund with housing, cost of living and other essential costs. We have also produced a guide with useful links, information and resources for organisations and individuals working with or supporting international health and care workers - with thanks and gratitude to all partners, community groups and individuals who contributed! We would like to continue to offer support for individuals subject to No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF). If you would like to make a donation to enable us to sustain our Small Grants Fund, please contact us: [email protected]
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 A huge thank you to everyone who attended the final Right to Remain Toolkit Festival with us last month. The toolkit is an essential resource for anyone trying to navigate, or helping someone to navigate, the UK asylum and immigration system. We highly recommend it as a resource for any individual or organisation working with people seeking asylum in Cornwall.
The festival offered an invaluable opportunity to practice using the toolkit, as well as build new and strengthen existing connections of radical solidarity in the migration justice movement. It was particularly insightful to explore the difference between legal support and legal advice, emphasising that the latter should always be sought from a suitably qualified legal or immigration adviser. Thank you to All Saints Church Highertown Truro for providing the venue and Panch Puran Restaurant for providing lunch! You can read more about the Festival in Right to Remain's blog here: righttoremain.org.uk/rounding-off-the-toolkit-festival-season-in-truro/ The Home Office has temporarily dispersed asylum seekers to hotels across the country, including a hotel in Cornwall. The dispersal comes in response to overcrowding and dire conditions at the Manston asylum centre in Kent, and the recent petrol bomb attack targeting the Border Force immigration centre in Dover. Cornwall has not previously engaged with the nationwide asylum dispersal system. Cornwall Council have published information about the current provision for asylum seekers on their website here. Newquay Refugee Support Group have been quick to mobilise and are currently providing local support. They are currently fundraising and collecting donations for men's shoes and winter coats in particular. You can donate to their online fundraiser here: www.justgiving.com/campaign/shoesforrefugees  On 30 November 2022 we hosted an online Zoom session providing further information about how communities and individuals can support asylum seekers in hotels in Cornwall, in collaboration with Newquay Refugee Support Group, Refugee Support Devon and Devon and Cornwall Refugee Support. You can find slides from the session here.
We are disappointed and gravely concerned in response to news this morning that the new Home Secretary plans to legislate to ban those entering the country irregularly from claiming asylum.
There are no safe routes to claim asylum in the UK. Instead of introducing further complex and likely unworkable legislation, the government should be investing in the creation of safe routes. The Home Secretary has also questioned the economic value of asylum seekers, claiming that "we need to... cut down on those numbers that aren't meeting the needs of our economy." Asylum claims should always be assessed based on rights and protection needs and not the needs of the state. Despite repeated campaigns and public support for asylum seekers having the right to work while their claim is assessed, they remain unable to do so. In addition, chronic underinvestment in legal advice, English classes, access to work and in-work support in the UK prevents many refugees from achieving their full potential. We would like to see existing legislation amended to overcome these challenges, rather than new legislation introduced to further penalise asylum seekers based on their mode of arrival in UK. Better leisure centres throughout Cornwall are offering Ukrainian refugees free centre membership, or a lesson or course membership, for a fixed three-month period. The scheme is open to refugees who were living in the Ukraine prior to January 2022, along with all other international refugees who have been granted refugee or asylum status by the UK Government. Operating under the Better brand, GLL is a not-for-profit social enterprise that runs Cornwall’s leisure centres on behalf of Cornwall Council. “We have all been very moved by the terrible things that have been happening in Ukraine and wanted to do something to help,” said James Curry, Head of Service for GLL in Cornwall. “Exercise is known to have both physical and mental health benefits and we’re hoping that what we’re doing can play a small part in making refugees’ experience of life in the UK as positive as possible.” Applications to the scheme can be made by the individuals concerned, their family hosts or charities and organisations acting on their behalf. The Cornwall Refugee and Resource Network (CRRN) will be helping GLL promote the opportunity to all those eligible within the local area. A CRRN spokesperson said: “Being able to access a local leisure centre not only provides health benefits, but also offers opportunities to build confidence, socialise and feel part of the community, which are essential to feeling truly welcome in a new area. “We’re proud to support this initiative and it’s brilliant to see GLL demonstrate inclusive leadership by ensuring that all refugees and asylum seekers can benefit, not only those from Ukraine.” There are two options on offer. Firstly, a Better Health Centre membership for those wanting to take part in exercise classes or use facilities like the gym and swimming pool and secondly a lesson or course membership. There are no age restrictions and all Better-operated facilities across the UK are participating. To apply, email [email protected] or [email protected] and attach proof of eligibility. This can be a Home Office letter confirming refugee or asylum status, a Ukrainian Family Scheme Visa or proof of application to the UK Government as a Ukrainian refugee. Applications should include the following information:
Applicants are also asked to attach proof of eligibility for the scheme to their email. Better will accept any of the following documents:
Applicants for the free membership scheme will receive a reply within three working days. 
The recording of our first CRRN Insights Series session on Language and Communication is now available online. Thank you to Louise Canham from Truro and Penwith College and Sue Topf from Falmouth & Penryn Welcome Refugee Families for joining us and thank you to everyone who attended. You can catch up with the recording below and find more information on our Links & Resources webpages here.
Don't miss out on our next session in the series, focused on supporting mental wellbeing. You can find more information and how to join online via Zoom in our last blog post!  Thursday 26th May, 6 - 7:30pm
An online Zoom information session about supporting mental wellbeing, aimed at people hosting, sponsoring, volunteering or working with refugees and asylum seekers. This session will cover: - Accessing services - General do's and don'ts - Emotional wellbeing of hosts and guests Followed by Q&A and facilitated by Dean Harvey, Community Development Worker and Associate Non-Executive Director at the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Please click this link to join the meeting, or use the Zoom joining details below: Meeting ID: 949 3459 3631 Password: 469153 This is the second event in the CRRN Insights Series aimed at supporting people working with, hosting or supporting refugees and asylum seekers in any capacity. Please come back to our blog or visit our Facebook page for information about future events and contact us if there is a particular theme or topic you feel would be helpful to explore as part of the series.  We're launching the online CRRN Insights Series on Thursday 12th May at 6pm. This series aims to offer insights and share knowledge with our Network and support hosts, sponsors and others working with refugees and asylum seekers.
The first session is focused on language and communication, featuring speakers who are experienced ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) professionals and interpreters. Please visit the Facebook event page to find out more and keep an eye out for future events in the series. We are dismayed and extremely concerned by the recent Government decision to send people seeking asylum to Rwanda. The plan will do little to achieve its stated aims of deterring people from making dangerous journeys to seek sanctuary in the UK, but instead it will create further harm and fail to protect human rights, at an enormous cost to the UK taxpayer.
85% of the world’s refugee population is already hosted in developing countries. Following on from the success of the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, which saw the UK resettle 20,000 refugees from the conflict in Syria between 2015 and 2020, we call on the Government to invest instead in improving and speeding up the current asylum system and commit to opening up safe routes to protection in the UK. Currently, these routes are very limited, which leaves people seeking sanctuary in the UK with little choice but to arrive in the country through irregular means. As the fifth wealthiest nation in the world, and known for its commitment to human rights, a UK target to resettle 10,000 refugees a year as a minimum would signal that this is a welcoming country to those fleeing danger. We welcome the announcement that all councils will be expected to participate in asylum dispersal. Under the current system, only a small number of councils across the UK provide asylum accommodation and support – Cornwall is not one of them – and this results in highly uneven dispersal of asylum seekers and refugees across the UK. As a small voluntary network of individuals, groups and organisations working to help refugees and asylum seekers in Cornwall and beyond, we have seen the network expand rapidly during the past few years. In addition, Cornwall is home to award-winning community sponsorship groups and recently made headlines with over 2,000 offers of accommodation to host refugees from Ukraine. This is testament to the phenomenal level of support, welcome and successful community organising in the region, but it is currently underutilised. We believe that Cornwall can do more to step up and match the generosity of its residents and has the ability to successfully participate in the asylum dispersal scheme. By continuing to press ahead with plans to relocate people to Rwanda, the Government is failing to consider alternative options and choosing to squander the kindness and welcome evident throughout resident communities across the UK. We hope that the Government will reconsider its decision and choose to invest in people and not planes to Rwanda. Thank you to everyone who attended the CRRN Zoom meeting on Monday 4th April, which aimed to provide an overview of refugee resettlement and community sponsorship in Cornwall, as well as provide information and advice to prospective sponsors under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The notes from the meeting can be accessed below: 
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March 2024
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