We’re volunteering in support of people seeking sanctuary in and around the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Welcoming refugees
We’re Refugees Welcome in Richmond (RWinR). Since 2015 we’ve been responding to the needs of refugees and people seeking asylum (or sanctuary in general) who live in or pass through Richmond upon Thames in London, UK.
Ways to get involved
Finding homes
Let a suitable property on favourable terms and bring more people to safety.
Befriending
After safety checks and training, help welcome clients and make friends.
Donations
Fundraise, donate items or your time to assist clients across the borough.
Looking for hosts
Support the call from Refugees at Home by offering temporary hosting to people seeking sanctuary in London.
Endorsements
Celia Marsh, host in Teddington
Refugees Welcome in Richmond (RWinR) has been an incredible source of information and support to Ukrainian hosts and guests alike ever since I joined its WhatsApp group as a potential host in May 2022. Providing answers to numerable questions about the rules for financial support and visa and permit applications to name but a few through to disseminating information on job fares, local support groups, social events and talks. Special mention must go to Hirsh who seems to work day and night replying to everything in double quick time! I am now having a second guest in the full knowledge that there is help and support available to myself and my guest. Thanks RWinR!
Mila
RWinR has been an essential supporter of the Ukrainian community in Richmond, creating a sense of home far from home, providing a helping hand to local refugees and improving their well-being.
Munira Wilson, MP for Twickenham
I very much support the invaluable contribution of Refugees Welcome in Richmond to the resettlement of refugees fleeing conflict in Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine, through finding homes, befriending, and events promoting integration.
Iryna and Valentin
I would like to express my deep gratitude to you and the group of people who work with you for helping us Ukrainians in this difficult time for us. You put a lot of effort into making our life diverse in a foreign country. We are cared for by sincere, kind, friendly people who understand our unbearable pain for the abandoned home where we lived and worked not so long ago and could never believe in the horror that befell us. Words of gratitude cannot be expressed without tears. A low bow to you.
Svitlana
I just wanted you to know about our, my personal, gratitude for your work. Last Tuesday we spoke with Susan and Noreen. Two hours of conversation on various topics is the best psychological support. Because I got some useful life hacks about finding a job for my son, who is also in the UK. We were considering the best way to study in Britain. Is a university education necessary, etc. I was ready to hug and kiss these charming women who spoke to us like old friends.
Sarah Olney, MP for Richmond Park
I am really grateful to a charity in my constituency called Refugees Welcome in Richmond, who came to see me on Friday. They are very concerned that the renewed focus on Ukrainian refugees will obscure the effort that is still going on to rehome our Afghan refugees. So many of them are still in hotels and I would really like to see a renewed focus on getting them resettled. I think the situations are different: we need immediate, potentially temporary shelter for women and children fleeing Ukraine; and our Afghan refugees—whole families—need permanent resettlement. The requirements are different. The effort to resettle one group does not need to take up the efforts already employed in resettling the other.
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