The Winter 2019 Edition of Friends of LASSN is out, with the usual mix of good news stories, organisational developments, policy briefings and photos. Click on this link https://mailchi.mp/d27d2ce5ccd9/friends-of-lassn-winter-2019, or the image below to get started
LASSN is run by a small group of Trustees, who are there to make sure our work always reflects our vision and values, and is a well-run organisation. Some of our Trustees have experiencing of volunteering with LASSN, and some do not. Some have experience of seeking asylum or forced migration, and some do not. Some have been Trustees before and for some people it's all new. What matters most is that our Trustees reflects the interests and concerns of people involved with LASSN, and that our Trustees have the knowledge and experience to help guide and support our work. With their support we are able to achieve huge amounts - as detailed in our Annual Report and Accounts, and Annual Review. Every year or so, our Trustees review the knowledge and experience of existing Trustees and work out where we might have gaps, or areas we want to strengthen. The last time Trustees did this (in March 2019) they decided LASSN should prioritise getting more Trustees who are people with experience of seeking refuge in the UK women (our Chair and our Deputy Chair are both women, but we want to recruit more) people with financial or accounting skills (our existing Treasurer is due to step down in Spring 2019) people who have experience of working in refugee or asylum focused projects Like all volunteer roles at LASSN we provide a comprehensive induction and ongoing support, and out of pocket expenses. If you are interested in finding out more about the role, please get in touch with [email protected] or call 0113 373 1759 If you are not an existing volunteer with LASSN, we also ask that you complete an online volunteer application form. When you do - someone will be in touch very soon to talk about next steps. Here's a description of the role - what's involved, and what kind of time commitment Trustees make Here's a description of the role of Treasurer If you are interested in finding out more about the role, please get in touch with [email protected] or call 0113 373 1759 If you are not an existing volunteer with LASSN, we also ask that you complete an online volunteer application form. When you do - someone will be in touch very soon to talk about next steps.
Volunteers are essential to the work of LASSN, and we are committed to ensuring volunteers are able to claim back any out of pocket expenses they generate as part of their volunteering. In fact, LASSN gets grant funding specifically to meet these costs (and if volunteers don't claim their expenses, we have to give it back!) The last time we reviewed our Expenses policy was in 2011. At that time, Trustees capped the amount each volunteer could claim at £30 per month. In October 2018 Trustees reviewed this policy, and decided that from November 2018 LASSN will increase the amount volunteers can claim to £37 per month, per person, in line with cost of living increases. Trustees have also agreed to review this amount annually. We know that volunteering with LASSN is never about the expenses. But we also appreciate that as costs increase, so must the amount we are able to refund. If you prefer not to claim back your out of pocket expenses, we respect your decision and we will the pay back unclaimed monies to our grant givers. That said, we also know that some of our volunteers claim their out of pocket expenses and then donate them back to LASSN. If they pay tax, then by Gift Aiding their £37 of expenses back to LASSN, we get the benefit of £46.25 of unrestricted income. Whatever you choose to do about claiming your expenses from LASSN, we want you to know how much we value your contribution, and what a difference you are making to the lives of asylum seekers and refugees in Leeds. Thank you from everyone at LASSN Jon
This event has already happened, but we've left the post up, as a reminder of what we've done. A party for refugees and their allies. When: Friday 11th May 18:00 – 23:00 Where: Open Source Arts, Aire Place Mills, 143 Kirkstall Rd, Leeds LS3 1JL Everyone is welcome at this party for asylum seekers, refugees, their friends and allies – featuring Live Music, YouTube Disco, Dancing, and Food. Entry is free, and children are welcome. There will be slots throughout the evening led by musicians from around the world, showcasing the music and dancing they know and love. And the YouTube Disco will run all evening - featuring the global dance tunes which you have chosen - so please add your favourites to this YouTube playlist: bit.ly/mwob18 even if you can't make the event. Finally, we know transport costs might be a problem for some people, so please text 07845298047 and let us know. We can't wait to see you there! This event is organised by Leeds Asylum Seekers’ Support Network (LASSN) and supported by Open Source Arts, Red Ladder Theatre Company, RETAS Leeds and Leeds Refugee Forum.
Opening a bank account can be difficult - if not impossible - for many refugees and asylum seekers. The Immigration Act and new European Anti Money Laundering directives are going to make this even harder. This short course was written to help people who support refugees and asylum seekers to understand more about why this is, and to provide some practical steps to help them. You can download all the materials from here
We held our AGM on 30th September 2016 at Mill Hill Unitarian Chapel. Here are the draft minutes of proceedings from the meeting. Highlights include a presentation by our outgoing Chair of Trustees, David Cundall a summary of our financial situation by our Treasurer, Katherine Wyatt a fond thank-you and farewell to our outgoing Trustees: Ruth Woodhead, Alexandra Huddart, and Solomon Kidane, the election of new Trustees: Ruchi Gulati, Paul Broughton, and Bill Urry LASSN members voting to change LASSN's Memorandum and Articles of Association, to enable LASSN to offer help to people who may not be asylum seekers and refugees, but who still find themselves unable to get help from Public Services, and a long way from home. Thank you to everyone who attended. AGM Minutes from Sep 16 AGM Minutes from October 15
Unltd have this week announced a £100,000 fund for social entrepreneurs who wish to establish a venture, or develop a new service at an existing venture, to work with refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. Its essentially small grants and support. Eligible areas include: - Organising & managing accommodation for those who need it; whether in private homes or unused spaces - Collecting, restore and distribute clothing and furniture; - Interpretation and English language learning opportunities; - Organising meaningful voluntary experiences that can help integrate people Link here - https://unltd.org.uk/2015/09/16/social-entrepreneurs-wanted-to-help-refugees-build-new-lives-in-britain
At LASSN we're tremendously grateful for all the support you give us, and we love to talk about what you help us to achieve. Why not invite us along to your school, or place of worship to explain a bit about what we do, and how we try to help Leeds to be a kinder, friendlier place? In July we visited Garforth School. We were invited to visit by long term supporter and sometime English at Home Coordinator, David Skivington. We went with Emily - a refugee from Zimbabwe - who shared her story with 250 pupils. Emily told a difficult story of persecution, trafficking and modern slavery to the whole of year ten, who then asked questions about her journey, and completed an exercise (based on this useful game about escaping from Syria) where they were asked to image making a dangerous journey from a war-torn country in an attempt to reach safety. Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected] or by calling 07845 298 047 and let us share some our stories with people you know.
We hope you're enjoying new website, which was launched earlier this year. The idea was to make it clearer, and easier to find things. We have (amongst other things) tried to make it easier for people to find out about LASSN, our work, and our achievements increase the number of online resources for volunteers, make it simpler to volunteer with us and to claim expenses As if this weren't enough, we also have a Facebook page - which also explores themes of asylum,migration in a slightly more informal way and a Twitter account - which draws together updates LASSN, our Facebook page, and articles we post on the Leeds MultiAgency Meeting website and finally www.oneworldleeds.org - our multi-author blog with views and opinions of people in Leeds (and beyond) on issues around asylum and migration.
