West London Welcome | Localgiving

West London Welcome

West London Welcome is a community centre run for and with refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and other locals living in West London, and the first of its kind in the area. We were set up by local people and opened our doors in 2018.

Why the community needs us
We know that it takes time to find a way to belong, especially after leaving one's own country under traumatic conditions, so we strive to give people that time. West London Welcome believes that all people, regardless of immigration status or background, deserve human rights and dignity, and that local communities should be at the forefront of supporting those facing profound life challenges related to refuge and migration. We work together to build a safe, positive experience of community. The centre provides a warm space for people to come in out of the cold, make friends, share ideas, eat good hot food and use our foodbank, learn English, get legal advice and casework support, take creative and educational classes, go on trips, and escape chaotic accommodation and isolation.

Our impact on the community
We support on average 40 centre members each week, who come originally from a wide range of countries such as Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Sudan, Cameroon, Egypt, Palestine, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Pakistan. Our community welcomes people from a wide range of immigration statuses and of all ages, including families, unaccompanied young people, and older people. Members, staff and volunteers work together in the space to lead projects and sessions collectively, which means friendships and support networks in the community are developed and sustained over time. We’re continuously growing as a community to support each other, learn from each other, and have fun together.

Our work during the Coronavirus pandemic
We adapted and transformed ourselves in a matter of days to respond to the emergency of local needs the pandemic created in March 2020 and onwards. Prior to the pandemic, we were a small, relaxed drop-in centre. We had to dramatically scale up what our centre offered and create an entirely new socially-distant way of operating. We’ve kept our charity open for in-person support every week throughout the pandemic, supporting over 300 local asylum seekers, refugee and migrants with food so far, and giving our members weekly hardship payments, legal aid and housing advice, education, referrals for therapeutic support, laptops and phones, credit and data, and a safe space to come when they had nowhere else to go. Such is the importance of people having access to legal aid while they make their case for asylum, and so chaotic are their living circumstances, we've worked very quickly to find our new members good solicitors in case they were moved on somewhere else. Some of our members are highly vulnerable, needing holistic support from us just to keep going. At Christmas, we gave all our members presents and support to survive through the holidays. Time and time again, people tell us West London Welcome feels like a family – all the more important when you’ve been separated from your own.

Volunteers needed

People to teach IT, help with grant writing, fundraising events

What your gift could provide

£10

Pays travel expenses for two members to attend the centre

£30

Goes toward buying laptops

£100

Pays the Living Wage to two refugee chefs (half days wages)

Fundraise for us!