Our advocacy and befriending work with young refugees (aged 16-25) involves a range of holistic advocacy casework, as well as matching young refugees with volunteer families who offer to share a weekly or fortnightly meal with them on a regular basis. The young refugees who benefit from this project have all come to the UK alone without their families and the majority are care leavers. They benefit from being welcomed into a family environment and feel better supported and less isolated. The host family does not intend to replace a young person’s birth family, but will go some way to meeting some of the emotional needs families usually fulfil, helping young people to feel that they are cared about.

We also run a youth hub for 16-18 year olds who are age disputed and not able to access college. We offer English classes, peer support and wellbeing activites.

How we support you

Befriending a vulnerable young person can be a big commitment and we are on hand to support you every step of the way. We will match you based on a number of factors including family size, age and gender of children, location, preferences and hobbies. The Refugee and Migrant Support Practitioner will accompany the young person on their first visit and support the match on an ongoing basis.

We welcome families of all shapes and sizes from single people to large extended families. If you would like to find out more please get in touch with our befriending coordinator.

If you are someone who is in touch with a young person (aged 16-25) who you feel would benefit from our support, please please get in touch befriending coordinator.