Bridgeway Mission helps refugees and asylum seekers in Colchester from Middle East and Eastern countries to improve their social communications and reduce their isolation, create a friendship and build a social network. We provide holistic support (physical, material, social), such as clothes, food, integration, referrals, training opportunities, improving CVs, supporting them with English language lessons, providing electronic devices. We also help with job search, education, volunteering opportunities, sign-posting and advocacy. The charity does individual consultation and group discussions. We help people bridge the gap between their country of origin and the new country. Our community (refugees and asylum seekers) are likely living in poverty, as they are not able to work and are new arrival in the country. They suffer from several barriers, as the first and most important one is that they cannot speak English, which guide them to loneliness, isolation and reduction in their mental health and wellbeing. We help the people to rebuild their new life in the new country by supporting them financially, such as with food, clothes, etc. These help them reduce the complex issues they face. We are aware of the ethnic, cultural, and linguistic barriers that minority families can face when they arrive in the UK, so we are a connecting and empowering Hub concerned for families in need from Middle Eastern and Eastern countries, including refugees, new immigrants, asylum seekers and other minority ethnic groups. Many refugees and immigrants (more vulnerable to discrimination and exploitation) live in fear when they arrive in a new country because there is difficulty speaking and learning English, securing housing, facing difficulty with transportation, cultural barriers, and problems with prejudice from the new culture. All these problems lead them to multiple stressors that can impact their mental well-being, including the loss of cultural norms, religious customs, and social support systems. This guides them to feel isolated from the culture. The asylum seekers fear being sent home as their documentation or status is questioned.Bridgeway is doing many social activities to help refugees and asylum seekers integrate into the Colchester community. We are friendly with our community, we visit them weekly, and we talk to them and hear from them about their needs and problems.We aim to empower the refugees community to become more confident and independent and achieve their ambitions and goals, as they are unemployed and their income is low, which means that the refugees cannot meet their basic needs, such as food.
Our organisation always respect the unique needs, perspectives, and potential of our diverse workforce whilst supporting the refugees and asylum seekers in our community. As a result, we earn deeper trust and commitment in our community due to the diverse and inclusive work we provide.