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Scottish Refugee Council Services & Consultancy to Local Authorities Involved in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme
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Introduction
Scottish Refugee Council is Scotland’s leading independent refugee-assisting charity with
over 30 years’ experience of working for and alongside refugees.
Scottish Refugee Council can offer the following services and consultancy to Local
Authorities involved in the Syrian humanitarian admission scheme (VPR):
a range of advice and advocacy services supporting refugees, (families, children and adults);
training;
working with refugee communities and developing community capacity;
policy consultancy;
media and communications consultancy; and
arts and cultural activities and consultancy;
We can work with individual local authorities or consortia. We can provide these services in
your local authority area or offer a consultancy role to help you to apply these tried and tested
services and models.
In 2015 Scottish Refugee Council will celebrate 30 years of working to ensure that all refugees in Scotland are treated fairly, with dignity and that their human rights are respected.
Our vision is for a Scotland in which all people seeking refugee protection are welcome.
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Advice and Advocacy Services to Refugees
Refugee Integration Service
We offer specialist casework advice and advocacy for up to a one-year period enabling all
refugees recently granted Leave to Remain through the asylum process by the Home Office
to learn about and access their rights, entitlements and options.
A similar approach has been adopted in Sheffield and the Yorkshire and Humber area to
support refugees resettled through the UK Government’s Gateway scheme and identified as
best practice1.
This model would also be appropriate for refugees who are being resettled in Scotland under
the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme.
We adopt a case management approach to work with new refugees and refugee families to
enable them access their benefit entitlement, access suitable and stable housing and identify
any health issues that may impact on the type of benefits they access and their longer term
integration aspirations.
Caseworkers conduct an initial assessment of each refugee to recognise the scale of their
resilience or vulnerability. Such an approach allows resources to be most appropriately
targeted and individualised.
Our experienced advisers work with refugees to develop a Holistic Integration Plan to cover
issues such as housing, benefit and financial stability, education and training including ESOL,
employability, health and well-being and developing social connections. Individualised plans
are based on assessment of needs and abilities taking into consideration refugees’ current
situation and long term aspirations and goals. The plan is a dynamic and live document and
draws pathways to achieve refugee’s goals and identify actions and responsibilities to take
them forward.
Our advisers provide expertise in housing, welfare rights, employability and encourage
people to actively participate in their communities and wider society.
Key benefits for refugees are:
Provided with timely, accurate and appropriate information and advice;
Actively involved in decisions affecting their lives;
Benefit from the caseworkers advocating on their behalf when appropriate;
Benefit from better coordination of services, through caseworker intervention;
Provided with the appropriate level of psycho-social and practical support; and
Enabled to move on and build upon their own self agency.
1 International Catholic Migration Commission & Sheffield City Council (no date) Welcome to Sheffield:
Reflections on 8 years’ experience of receiving resettled refugees at the local level, Available at: http://www.resettlement.eu/page/welcome-sheffield-publication [Accessed 27 October 2015]
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Advice and Advocacy Services to Refugees
Other advice services
Scottish Refugee Council has experience in providing orientation services to newly-arrived
asylum seekers and resettled refugees. Expertise from our model of providing key work
support to newly-arrived families in the asylum process to engage with local services
(children 0-8) can also be drawn on.
We also have experience of assisting refugees to apply for travel documents and providing
paralegal advice on the family reunion process to refugees.
Scottish Guardianship Service
The Scottish Guardianship Service is an award-winning service2 funded by the Scottish
Government and already works with local authorities across Scotland supporting them to
meet their statutory obligations to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and trafficked
young people.
2 In 2013, the service won the Partnership Award at Scottish Charity Awards and the Young People’s Project of
the Year Award at the Herald Society Awards.
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Advice and Advocacy Services to Refugees
The service, delivered in partnership between Aberlour Child Care Trust and Scottish
Refugee Council, provides children and young people who arrive in Scotland unaccompanied
and separated from their families with an independent guardian.
A guardian is someone who accompanies children and young people when they claim
asylum or are trafficked and are cared for by health, education and welfare services. A
guardian will help a child or young person to be actively involved in decisions that affect their
life and to get the help they need, when they need it. A guardian is on the child’s side, can
explain what is happening to them, will listen to their views and experiences and speak up for
them when needed. A guardian will also help a child or young person to plan their future.
Whilst separated children are now unlikely to feature prominently in the profile of those
coming through the Syrian VPR scheme, we are happy to discuss with Local Authorities who
may be involved with resettling separated children how the Scottish Guardianship Service
can be extended to support them in relation to reception and integration.
More information on the Scottish Guardianship Service can be found in the service
evaluation: Crawley, H. & Kholi, R. (2013) She Endures With Me: An Evaluation of the
Scottish Guardianship Service Pilot. Available at:
http://www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk/assets/0000/6798/Final_Report_2108.pdf
Refugee Services Contact
Wafa Shaheen Head of Refugee Services 0141 223 7935
Scottish Guardianship Service
Graham O’Neill Policy Officer 0141 223 7987
graham.o’[email protected]
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Training
Training
Scottish Refugee Council has a comprehensive training programme that covers all aspects of
working with and delivering services to refugees and asylum seekers. We have trained
statutory, voluntary and community-based organisations across Scotland. Our standard
courses which include An Introduction to Working with Refugees; Working with Interpreters,
Supporting Refugee Women can be adapted to your situation and participants to equip local
staff, statutory and voluntary agencies with the knowledge and skills to work with newly-
arrived refugees through the VPR programme.
Other skills-based courses developed through our experiences and expertise of working and
engaging with refugees include: Quality Consultation using Participatory Methods, Facilitating
Events with Interpreters and Engaging Hard to Reach Groups.
Training contact
Martha Harding Training Officer 0141 223 7982
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Working with Receiving & Refugee Communities
Community preparation
Scottish Refugee Council has experience of running community events to inform and prepare
communities to receive refugees and creating space for issues of concern to be raised and
responded to. Drawing on our expertise in participatory methods of engagement and
facilitation, knowledge of the situations refugees are fleeing and experiences of community
tensions we are able to help develop welcoming and safe communities.
Community development
Scottish Refugee Council has expertise and a strong track record of supporting refugee
communities to organise and to develop a voice on the issues affecting their lives in
Scotland. We have supported groups to challenge and tackle the inequalities affecting their
lives, working with communities to identify their needs, opportunities, rights and
responsibilities, and to plan and take action on a range of issues. Examples of this work
include current work with resettled refugees in North Lanarkshire involving running
workshops to upskill the groups’ committee members from organisational and committee
skills to public speaking. We also support the Refugee Women’s Strategy Group, a
representative group of refugee women to engage with policy-makers on issues affecting
them.
Working with Communities Contact:
Gary Christie Head of Policy & Communications 0141 223 7952
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Policy, Media & Communications
Policy
Scottish Refugee Council has extensive knowledge and expertise of international, EU and
domestic legislation and policy regarding refugees. We have conducted research into
differing aspects of refugees’ experiences from family reunion and integration to Female
Genital Mutilation and access to and experiences of maternity services. We have developed
specific expertise in relation to refugee integration, women, equality groups and children.
We are active members of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles and the EU
network on resettlement and have excellent networks and relationships with government at
EU, UK and Scottish levels and across sectors, such as health, police, Violence Against
Women and housing.
We are: “widely respected as a leading source of credible and trusted evidence and analysis
on refugees in Scotland” and play “an important role in representing the views and interests
of refugees at the Scottish, UK and EU levels, very often as the only Scottish organisation at
the table”3.
We can assist you to ensure local services are planned and accessible, meet the immediate
needs and long-term integration of newly-arrived refugees and follow international best
practice.
Media and Communications
Scottish Refugee Council has 30 years’ experience of communicating to the general public
and media about refugees and refugee issues. We are well linked into many of Scotland’s
broadcast and media organisations and with key individual journalists. We can advise on how
to support proactive and reactive work with media outlets, develop your own communication
tools and also support individuals appropriately in the development of case studies and
individual stories to avoid pitfalls and bad publicity which may affect the reception and long-
term integration of refugees in your community.
3 Cutler, S. & Kyambi, S. (2012) An evaluation of the influencing work of Scottish Refugee Council, 2008-2012,
Available at: http://www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk/assets/0000/5572/SRC_influencing_evaluation_2008-
12_-_key_points_and_findings_briefing.pdf
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Pic: Refugee Festival Scotland Media Awards 2015.
Policy, Media and Communications Contact
Gary Christie Head of Policy & Communications 0141 223 7952
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Volunteering for refugees and local communities
Volunteering roles for refugees
Volunteering provides marginalised individuals, such as refugees, the chance to build their
confidence, employability, skills and social connections through helping others in a range of
volunteering roles. With our expertise in understanding the motivations and barriers refugees
face in engaging with volunteering and our experience, we can provide advice on developing
specific volunteering programmes and mainstreaming refugees into existing local
volunteering programmes.
Peer Educators
We have developed a successful model of peer education with NHS Greater Glasgow and
Clyde to improve the health and well-being of refugees. Volunteer refugees peer educators
receive training in health services, health and well-being along with communication skills and
facilitation skills. Peer Educators then recruit refugees to share their knowledge and develop
strategies and plans for health and well-being. Key outcomes of this project have been
increased knowledge of health services, health rights and healthy living; strengthened
personal friendship networks and reported improved access to emotional support; increased
participation in social activities and physical exercise; and improved their understanding of
UK professional environments. Scottish Refugee Council is developing this model into other
areas including employability.
For more information, please see the evaluation of this model: Strang, A. (2015) Refugee
Peer Education for Health and Well-Being Evaluation Report. Available at
http://www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk/news_and_events/blogs/2726_refugee_peer_educa
tion_pilot_project_evaluation_report
Volunteering roles working with refugees
Scottish Refugee Council has over 30 years’ experience of recruiting, training and developing
meaningful opportunities for individuals to work directly with refugees as orientators, advisers
and befrienders. We can assist in the development of volunteering programmes to harness
the support of local communities and individuals to support newly-arrived refugees.
Volunteering Contact
Gün Orgun Volunteer Development Co-ordinator 0141 223 7934
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Arts, Culture, Sport and Heritage
Our work in the area of arts, culture, sports and heritage demonstrates the importance of
language, culture and participation in integration, providing not only the opportunity for people
to build social bonds and bridges but to express themselves, celebrate their own culture, that
of their new home and challenge attitudes. Work in this area has been an important part of
our work since the organisation began in 1985.
Refugee Festival Scotland
Each year Scottish Refugee Council leads and coordinates Refugee Festival Scotland in
partnership with a range of agencies and groups. The Festival, now recognised as a fixture in
Scotland’s cultural calendar, culminates on World Refugee Day on 20 June every year.
National agencies such as the National Theatre of Scotland and local arts and cultural
organisations frequently programme and participate. During Refugee Festival 2015 over 100
events and celebrations took place in 10 local authority areas from Aberdeen and to the Isle
of Skye. A key part of this is working with grassroots groups to hold community celebrations
to share and shape the future of their communities.
Pic: Unity League Tournament 2015
Culture, Sport and Heritage consultancy
Throughout the year we aim to deliver one major project offering the opportunity for New
Scots and others to participate either as volunteers or audiences. This year for example ‘Lest
We Forget’ explores the heritage of communities across Scotland’s welcome to Belgian
refugees in World War 1. As well as documenting this heritage through exhibition and film,
this project will produce educational materials to involve and educate young people across
Scotland.
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Pic: ‘Being Human’ Launch at the Arches Theatre, Refugee Festival Scotland 2015
We facilitate and broker ongoing creative exchanges for refugees and asylum seekers to
access wider opportunities on an ongoing basis and have supported the careers of a number
of award-winning photographers, designers & writers.
We are happy to discuss with you how such work can be developed in your area as a way to
facilitate integration and engage with the wider community.
Arts, Culture, Sports & Heritage Contact
Suzi Maciver Arts & Cultural Development Officer 0141 223 7939
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Contacts and information
To discuss any aspects of the services and consultancy that we are able to provide please
get in contact with the relevant individual;
Refugee services
Wafa Shaheen Head of Refugee Services 0141 223 7935
Training
Martha Harding Training Officer 0141 223 7982
Scottish Guardianship Service
Graham O’Neill Policy Officer 0141 223 7987
graham.o’[email protected]
Working with Refugee Communities
Gary Christie Head of Policy & Communications 0141 223 7952
Policy, Media and Communications
Gary Christie Head of Policy & Communications 0141 223 7952
Arts, Culture and Refugee Festival
Suzi Maciver Arts & Cultural Development Officer 0141 223 7939
Volunteering
Gün Orgun Volunteer Development Co-ordinator 0141 223 7934
General enquiries
Laura Wilkie 0141 223 7918
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Scottish Refugee Council is an independent charity dedicated to providing advice and information for people who have fled horrific situations around the world. We have been advocating and campaigning for the rights of refugees since 1985. To find out more, sign up to our e-newsletter by going to our website: www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk Join us on: www.facebook.com/scottishrefugeecouncil www.twitter.com/scotrefcouncil Contact Details: Scottish Refugee Council 5 Cadogan Square (170 Blythswood Court) Glasgow G2 7PH T 0141 248 9799 F 0141 243 2499 E [email protected] Charity Number: SC008639 Company Number: SC145067 Funded by
