Brian and Mohammed’s story

Brian writes
 
“When I was first introduced to my befriendee by Iona I was a bit uncertain how things would go. I wasn’t sure about the age gap – he is in his 30s, I have recently retired. He also seemed very preoccupied by the apparent lack of progress on his case and was very negative about his solicitor.

All in all, he seemed quite depressed and I was not sure the match would work.

How wrong I was !

Some 15 months later our weekly meetings at The Playhouse are something we both ( I feel fairly confident in saying) look forward to.

For the first 6 months we met weekly in his house where I was always welcomed by any of the 5 guys who lived there. Our chats encompassed politics, Daesh, Brexit, The Donald and football. We invariably had impromptu English vocabulary and grammar sessions. My fondest memory is of an amazing meal I was invited to, to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

We have been on trips- to the seaside, to the theatre and to Leeds museum. We have given a talk together to new befrienders at LASSN. I have watched his refugee football team play at Barnsley FC and at Thorp Arch. I am supporting him in a project for his “ International Anthem” to be performed at The Playhouse this summer. He is about to sit GCSE maths and a Level 1 English exam.

Both our lives have been improved by our friendship and it will, I hope, endure after the formal pairing through LASSN ends”

Achievements in 2018/19

Befriending volunteers provide practical support to the refugees and asylum seekers they are matched with: helping people to access health and social care services, to make stronger connections with their communities and to make friends. Befriending reduces isolation, improves well-being, and encourages integration and greater self-reliance among asylum seekers and refugees.

  • 38 volunteers were matched with 52 asylum seekers and refugees, and provided one to one support.
  • Befriending enabled refugees and befrienders to find out more about Leeds and make greater social connections by arranging a wide variety of trips and social activities – from trips to the seaside, to museums and galleries, sporting events, theatre and opera visits, and cultural events
  • LASSN employed two people with lived of experience to help organise summer activities for families experiencing food poverty, and to help support the families to plan and run trips to green spaces
  • #musicwithoutborders – a collaboration with Open Source Arts, Leeds Refugee Forum and RETAS – got 150 people dancing, listening, playing and DJing music from all across the world.
  • LASSN collaborated with RETAS to widen access to their Welcome to Leeds programme, which helps people who are new to Leeds to make friends and find their way around their new home.

 

The Befriending project underwent a full evaluation in 2015 and can be downloaded here.

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Page last checked May 23, 2019 @ 9:48 am