Borderlands aims to create a community of welcome which supports asylum seekers, refugees and other vulnerable migrants in the Bristol area ‘from exclusion to belonging’.

In total our work benefited over 1000 asylum seekers and refugees between January 2023 and December 2023 (the people we work with are known as our ‘members’).

Our Welcome Centre helped over 700 people to make connections and build community in their new home in Bristol. At our welcome centre we offer:

• a weekly nutritious shared hot meal, breakfast table and ‘social supermarket’ where members can choose fruit, vegetables and groceries to take home.
• a social space where members can use the internet, create art, have a drink, or read the paper.
• one-to-one support to help people solve problems they are facing.
•  a new cooking group which allows members housed in initial accommodation to cook together and share a meal in our kitchen.
•  hosting of other organisations to run workshops e.g. dentaid, housing support, health services.
•  local excursions to help people get to know the local area such as visits to the SS Great Britain and a trip to the Devon seaside.
•  an Eid celebration organised with our partners with a hot meal, play activities for children, music and dancing. 

Our Mentoring Project supported 53 mentees - asylum seekers, refugees, and other vulnerable migrants (including survivors of trafficking and modern slavery) and 53 volunteer mentors, trained and supervised by our two mentoring managers. Mentors provide practical and emotional one-to-one support to mentees for a period of six months. Mentors and mentees meet once a week for at least an hour and are available by phone or social media at agreed times for more support if needed. We offer a thorough training for our mentors before they join the programme and support them through regular supervision and training. 

Our Learning Project this year has provided 9 weekly ESOL classes for Borderlands members. Through these, we have seen 60 members a week and over 150 people across the year. This year we have strengthened our partnerships, we launched our Women’s Theatre group, weekly poetry groups in collaboration with The Reader, Maths and English for any level facilitated by CURO and sharing stories which was a member-led initiative in which the group facilitator, a journalist, created a space for members to bring examples of their own culture to the group to share and discuss.

Over the past year, two new asylum hotels have opened in the centre of Bristol. This has put significant pressure on all our services, and especially on ESOL (English learning) provision. Asylum seekers cannot access any college provision for the first 6 months that they are in the country and when they are eligible, the waiting lists for places on ESOL courses are over 12 months long. In response to the new asylum hotels, we trialled running 3 classes a week in one of the hotels.

 ‘Feel Good Wednesday' ran weekly health and wellbeing activities for over 100 people giving attendees coping tools and respite from their situation. Activities included Sleep and Relaxation sessions, yoga and sewing classes for women and fitness classes for men. We have partnered with herbalists without Borders who attend our welcome centre once a month and partnered with Easton Leisure Centre to enable members to access the gym, pool and some classes for free.

Your support matters. By donating to Borderlands, you become a crucial part of this transformative process. Help us continue our vital work, making a profound difference in the lives of those who need it most.

Join us in changing lives and building a compassionate community.