A Bristol community group has issued a plea for a local landlord to give up a property for a refugee family. The Brislington Welcome group is a collective of BS4 residents who have come together to work with the Home Office, Bristol City Council and the UK government to rehouse a refugee family in Bristol.
Landlords across Bristol, but predominantly in the Brislington area, are being urged to consider offering up a property for a family who are living in a refugee camp abroad. The landlord would be giving a family in desperate conditions a fresh chance at life in the UK, and the group of Brislington residents have pledged to support the family on their arrival to the UK.
Bristol Live spoke to Catharine Hiley, who together with her friend, Emma, and the wider collective of Brislington residents, are fundraising, recruiting volunteers and pledging to complete the application to the Home Office to secure the refugee family's move to the UK, and then offer up the family a private home, healthcare, support, education and more in Bristol.
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Catharine started Brislington Welcome in 2021 with her friend after Emma felt 'helpless' after witnessing the crisis in Afghanistan unfold. She said, "You hear so many stories and you just feel really helpless.
"Emma looked into ways we could offer some practical support, and came across community sponsorship, which we are now offering. She put a call-out on a Brislington community page on Facebook, we had a really great response, and now have a group of residents who are committed to getting the family to the UK and helping them restart their lives."
In order to get a refugee family over to the UK to support them in starting a new chapter in Bristol, an application needs to be made to the Home Office as part of the UK Government's Community Sponsorship programme. Money needs to be fundraised in order to make this a reality, and, crucially, Brislington Welcome needs to find a home to house the family in on arrival to the UK.
The community group have been searching for a landlord to offer up a property for some time. Catharine says the property is a 'non-negotiable' and is the current sticking point in moving the process forward.
She said, "In order to get a family over to the UK and to support them, we really need to find a landlord that is willing to have a refugee family staying. It means the landlord will be entitled to refugee benefits, and the house will be paid for using Universal Credit.
"The rent will be guaranteed for up to two years. Because it's Universal Credit, it's not a competitive price, and it's much lower than market price, but they'd be offering a family in crisis a new life. We're still looking for a suitable landlord to get in touch. But it only takes that one person to transform a family's life."
Catharine says that the community group are even open to landlords with fixer-upper projects. She said, "If someone has a house that's a bit of a project, our volunteers can be around to help with any renovations.
"We'd be more than happy to help paint, do some gardening, or help with any renovations needed. We really need to find a landlord to make this a reality."
Once presented with a successful application from the Brislington Welcome community group, the Home Office will then match up a refugee family, who will travel to the UK to make Bristol their home. Catharine explained the family that will be picked will be chosen based on being a "high needs family".
She said, "Depending on the size of the house that you have available, you're then matched with a very high needs family that have suffered quite a lot of trauma, or have quite extensive medical needs. The Home Office needs to prioritise the most needy families that need to leave these camps as soon as possible."
Once the family are settled in Bristol, ideally in Brislington itself, the community group will rally around them as friendly faces and neighbours. "The minute they get on the plane to come to the UK, we are responsible for them," Catharine said.
"We will pick them up from the airport and bring them to the house. We'll help them get registered with a GP, secure a bank account, help them with any appointments they need to make.
"We'll settle the children, if there are any, in a local school. We'll work with a translator, as it's unlikely they'll know any English - and we'll ensure they get language classes. We'll be there to support them with anything they need. Even little things like showing them how to use public transport - everything we take for granted."
The Brislington Welcome community group has been flyering in BS4 to search for a landlord willing to help. On August 31, it is hosting an open forum event, so anyone with questions about the work the group are doing can get some answers, and people can also donate to help the group reach its fundraising target here.
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