How you can help refugees and asylum seekers

There are lots of ways that you can help refugees and asylum seekers in Newcastle. You can donate money, goods, your time and skills as a volunteer or you can host a refugee in your home. Here’s some ways that you can help.

Donate money to local charities

There a number of local charities who support refugees, asylum seekers and people who have been refused asylum who are destitute in Newcastle. They use this to help provide emotional and practical support to people. You can read more about the services on Support for refugees and asylum seekers

West End Refugee Service
The North of England Refugee Service
Action Foundation

Food banks

Emergency food parcels are available in Newcastle to people who need it. You can donate money or food items to the Food Banks in Newcastle. Supermarkets have collection points where you can drop off items that are needed. You can donate money through the charities website.

See the full list of Food banks in Newcastle on InformationNOW.

Volunteer your time and skills

There are lots of ways that you can directly help refugees and asylum seekers in Newcastle. Charities provide a range of support and volunteers are needed to help. You could volunteer to help to

give information at a drop in session
practice English conversation
give out food and drinks
help someone to get to know Newcastle

HostNation are a befriending service that match people to refugees in Tyneside. Volunteer spend time with their match to introduce them to the North East and socialise. You can watch a video from HostNation about befriending in the North East here

Contact the charities listed in the Support for refugees and asylum seekers article on InformationNOW to find out more about the volunteer roles available. Or speak to the Volunteer Centre Newcastle to find out more about volunteering in Newcastle.

Support for Ukraine

Many charities and community groups are collecting donations from the public to help support Ukrainian refugees. You can help by donating money or essential items.

Please read the information carefully to see what things are needed if you want to donate items. Most groups have a list of the donations they need. There may be a deadline by which you can donate items to local groups, as they are arranging to drive the items to where they are needed.

Read Newcastle City Council’s website for more information.

Opora is an online support hub for Ukrainians in the UK, offering direct assistance to Ukrainian arrivals from travel, baby supplies and tailored employment opportunities and business grants for long-term sustainable support. They also help Ukrainians find UK sponsors for the Government Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Local collections of items for Ukraine

Please make sure you read the information from each local group to make sure you are donating items that they need. Some groups have paused or stopped their collections as they have received so much. It may be easier to donate money to the charities mentioned above, so they can buy what they need and don’t have to arrange transport for them. These are the local collections that we are aware of at the moment.

BBC Radio Newcastle has a list on their Facebook page of collection points in the North East.

Craghall Care Home are supporting the Wellburn Care collection for Ukraine. Wellburn staff are driving to Poland to deliver supplies. Visit their Facebook page for more on what they are collecting.

Polish Community Centre has collected a huge amount of essential items such as food, medical supplies and nappies. Their collection is currently on hold as they arrange for the items to be transported to the Polish border.

Connected Voice has a page on their website which lists local collections and charities.

Helping refugees in your home

Read more from Newcastle City Council about how you can help refugees and asylum seekers in your home by:

offering a spare room in your home for refused or destitute asylum seekers
fostering a child
offering to rent out your property
campaigning and lobbying government

Volunteer to host a Ukrainian person in your home

The government now has a Homes for Ukraine scheme where you can register to ‘sponsor’ or house a Ukrainian refugee in your home, charity or organisation. Sponsors should provide accommodation for as long as they are able, but there is a minimum expectation of 6 months. Someone is eligible for the scheme if they are a Ukrainian national (or an immediate family member of one) and were resident in Ukraine prior to 1 January 2022.

Read Newcastle City Council’s website for more information.

How to speak in clear and simple English to the refugee in your home

English Unlocked runs training for people hosting a refugee at home. They will show you how to speak English in a way that is easier for people from other countries to understand. You pay a small donation to take part in this training, which goes to support the West End Refugee Service. The training takes place online. Visit Eventbrite to book onto the next one and find out if you are eligible for this offer.

Apply for a Ukraine Family Scheme visa

Read the Gov.uk guidance for family members of British nationals, UK settled persons and certain others to come to or stay in the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme.

National charities

National charities respond to disasters and emergency situations. If you want to donate to help at a time of crisis you may want to donate to a charity listed below.

Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) provides emergency relief when there is a disaster or crisis across the world. They work with 15 UK aid charities to raise money quickly, so it can be used to provide direct help and support to people who need it. You can donate money to DEC directly on their website or through one of their partners. The money raised is pooled together to provide humanitarian aid and specialist disaster relief. Their partners are: The British Red Cross, , ActionAid, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Oxfam, Save the Children, as well as Action Against Hunger, Age International, Care International, International Rescue Committee, Plan International, Tearfund, World Vision and Islamic Relief.

UNICEF works to protect, support and educate children across the world. They raise money to help children with: life-saving vaccines, medicines, emergency or crisis support, school in a box kits, books, and essential items like food and clothes. You can donate money to the charity to help their work to make the world safer for children.

Shelterbox provide shelter, essential items and technical assistance to vulnerable people across the world. Helping them recover and rebuild their homes after a disaster or crisis. They provide emergency shelter and essential items such as: tents, shelter kits, lights, blankets, water filters, mosquito nets and cooking equipment. You can donate money to the charity to support their work.

UN Refugee Agency help refugees across the world with emergency and crisis support. This includes shelter, essential items and help to access support services and counselling. They work to support refugees to advocate for their protection and to return home safely if and when they feel ready to. You can donate money to help their work.

Resources

IMIX work with organisations across the refugee and migration sector to train and support communications.

City of sanctuary have a support resource for Gardening groups and centres

City of sanctuary have a support resource for arts groups and organisations

City of sanctuary have a support resource for Shops and retail organisations

Newcastle city of sanctuary have a free migration mythbuster course for people in Education, council, health and other sectors that gives information to help fight myths about immigration. This requires signing up for an account.

This myth buster factsheet created by Newcastle city of sanctuary and Baltic centre for contemporary art can be used to educate about the asylum seeker and refugee experience

Help for asylum seekers and refugees in Newcastle

Read more on InformationNOW to find out where you can get help in Newcastle:

Last updated: July 18, 2023