Last week, I realised that the woman in front of me in a supermarket queue was a client we’d supported when I worked at LASSN between 2005-7. At that time, she was classed as a ‘failed asylum seeker’, fearful of detention or separation from her children. I remember that, although she tried to be cheerful, you could always see the anxiety in her eyes. I knew that she’d had a successful appeal and gained refugee status after I’d left LASSN. Anyway, we chatted as the queue moved forwards, and I was amazed at how she’d changed in the intervening years. Relaxed and confident, she told me about the new job she’d just started and how well her children are doing at college and university.

LASSN are far too modest to claim full credit for this happy outcome, and of course the whole story is a more complicated picture of legal and other support for asylum seekers. But LASSN’s incredible team of staff and volunteers stand alongside people who are isolated, distressed and far from home, and help them find the resources to keep going. The impact of LASSN’s work is that now a young family who went through a very difficult time are now settled and doing well, and two young adults are now reaching their full potential.

So that’s why I’m doing this sponsored walk: quite simply I want to do my bit to help LASSN’s 250+ fantastic volunteers who give hope and encouragement to the asylum seekers/ refugees they support. Providing emergency accommodation, English tuition or befriending support might seem to be ‘just’ helping people keep going from day to day, but the benefits can last a lifetime. Many of LASSN’s clients are parents with young children, who deserve a settled home. So please sponsor us if you can!

Kirsty

Just received a sneak preview of the LASSN sponsored walk route, with 19 interesting and in some case unusual Leeds City Centre sites. Including links to the atomic bomb, owls, an historic library and Florence Nightingale.

Find out more by joining us on 29 June – details here.

http://www.charityjob.co.uk/Jobs/287042/Activism-Co-ordinator-Yorkshire-and-Humberside

City of Sanctuary wishes to recruit a Regional Development Coordinator to work nationally as an assistant and support for the trustees and national coordinator. The post is half-time for one year, with the possibility of continuation if future funding allows. It can be based anywhere in the country but will require considerable travel.

Please find attached a Job Description and Person Specification for the post, along with details of how to apply.

Applications should be submitted before 21st June and we anticipate that interviews will be held on 11th July.

Vacancies including Immigration Caseworker placement with a Solicitor.  Full list of opportunities June 2013 Recruitment.

We are inviting all our supporters, volunteers and clients to join us for a picnic and/or a day exploring Leeds, making new friends and raising funds to continue our vital work supporting asylum seekers and refugees.

All you need to know

The picnic will be at 5pm in Park Square Leeds. Let’s hope for better weather than at our last walk – but if not we will have  an indoor picnic at LASSN’s office! Email us to let us know you are coming.

You are also welcome to  join us for our sponsored walk on the same day. The route will be a gentle stroll taking in some historic and fascinating features of Leeds City Centre.  It will take 1 to 2 hours  - depending on how distracted you are by the sights and sounds - and is suitable for all ages and fitness levels.  Children are welcome to come with their parents or guardians. You can start the walk any time from 3 – 4 pm with the aim of joining the picnic for 5pm. So please bring yourself, a comfortable pair of shoes for walking and some food for a picnic. Email us to join the walk.

Raising Funds

It may not be the longest or most challenging walk, but we would be delighted if you could raise whatever you can in sponsorship to support our work at LASSN. We can provide you with sponsorship forms, an online sponsorship platform and some fundraising advice to get you started!  LASSN receives no government funding so every penny has to be raised through charitable grants and donations to ensure that we can continue our vital work providing befriending, English language tuition and emergency accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees.

Set up your online sponsorship here: https://www.charitygiving.co.uk/lassn-walk

Why we need your Support

“Before, I was depressed and scared to go out.  Now I can go out and enjoy life and my children.”

These are the words of one of our clients, describing the impact of our Befriending service.  LASSN helps people to overcome the challenges of adapting to a new country and rebuild their lives.  Our English at Home project helps people to improve their spoken and written English. Our Befriending service provides a friendly face and practical support, enabling asylum seekers and refugees to become less isolated.  Our Grace Hosting service last year provided an astounding 3259 nights of accommodation to homeless men and women, and children who might otherwise have spent the night on the streets.  LASSN helps asylum seekers and refugees to feel safe, supported and confident, improving their mental health and wellbeing and their ability to care for their children.  In the long term, many people we work with are enabled to move on to college courses, volunteering or paid employment.

Because we work with volunteers, we’re an incredibly cost-effective charity.  Funds raised from this sponsored walk will help us to fund the costs of our experienced staff team who provide our 200 volunteers with the training, resources and ongoing support that they need to make life better for asylum seekers.  Our model of working with volunteers means that it costs LASSN just 80p a day to support each client – so if you could raise just £30 in sponsorship from your family, friends and colleagues, you could support one asylum seeker for over a month.

HACT, the Housing Associations Charitable Trust, runs an employability programme called Reach In, restricted to refugees and asylum seekers with permission to work. Reach In offers volunteer work placements within housing associations and Chartered Institute of Housing level 2 certificate in housing practise. They have been running the programme for more than 30 volunteers in London, Manchester and Birmingham and are going national for the last wave of the programme, including Leeds.

HACT are now recruiting for placements starting in August (information days and interviews will be held in July). Early applicants will be more likely to secure a placement.

If you have any queries, please contact Marcelle Dopwell, project manager Marcelle.dopwell( at )hact.org.uk

Thursday 20th June – Manuel

Friday 21th June – Katrina

Monday 24th June – Manuel

Tuesday 25th June – Janice

Wednesday 26th June – Sara (from 11.30am)

Scar Tissue - a debut novel by David Skivington (LASSN volunteer)

While the story of Scar Tissue is purely fictional, the issues of human trafficking and/or caste inequality raised are all too real.

In a single phone call, Rachel’s entire life unravels. Transported to a dingy basement in Kolkata to identify the body of her murdered husband she has no explanation for his presence in India. As she searches for answers about who the man she married really was she finds his death surrounded by allegations of drug smuggling, child trafficking and murder. Unsure of what is true and who she can trust, Rachel has no idea of the danger her husband’s hidden life has put her in.

Using the link above means that LASSN will receive at least 5% donation from Amazon.

Reach In Flyer Wave 4