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Next Meeting

Our next meet and mingle will be hosted by our kind friends at Pleck Methodist Church at 7pm on Wednesday 5th October. Please do come along and bring anyone you know who might be interested. We bring food and soft drinks to share.

Refugee Volunteer Training

Please find attached latest details/poster of training for those befriending Refugees and Asylum-Seekers, or interested in doing so. (Evenings in September/October, and Mornings in November/December, in Birmingham).

Restore-training-courses-Autumn-2016

Wolverhampton needs help

Our neighbour Wolverhampton City of Sanctuary hold a weekly drop in session on a Wednesday. They are currently short of volunteers to help during September. They are also asylum seekers in need of televisions, vacuum cleaners, pots and pans, cutlery, crockery, microwaves, ironing boards and small settees. If you are able to help them with any of that or you are able to transport some of the larger items that have been donated, then please contact Sharon [email protected] or  Khady on 07580015377 / [email protected].

 

Procession of Light Bearwood

On Saturday 1st October the community of Bearwood will be coming together in solidarity with refugees, promoting messages of welcome, hope and support. Bearwood Action for Refugees are joining together with other community organisations including We Are Bearwood for a torch-lit Procession of Light through Warley Woods  5pm, twilight, in Warley Woods, B67 5ED and we shall be meeting by the fountain to process up to the pavillion.

Local families and individuals are invited to take part in the procession, bringing their own torches to light their way. It’s hoped that lots of local groups, schools and communities will want to get involved to fully represent the local community.

…the crafty bit…

Using a technique called debossing, you can create your very own torch template to project a unique light picture or message from your torch for the procession. Smethwick Craftivistas have created a template kit to share with schools and groups that will help people do this. There will also be sessions taking place at the Crafty Pantry Food Festival on Saturday 17th September and on 1st October in the Pavillion at Warley Woods prior to the event where you can make a light picture template for your torch. Details for the template will follow.

The following pleas are directly from the City Of Sanctuary:

Refugees Welcome Here March – London organised by Solidarity with Refugees.
We hope to see wide local mobilisation for this key event just before world leaders gather at a Summit on Refugees and Migrants at the UN General Assembly.  Essential information is here on Facebook or on the Solidarity with Refugees website. There is also a separate Facebook link about coaches from the various cities.
Although only 3 weeks away, there are not many coaches organised and if there isn’t one already advertised from your city, this is a plea to your local CoS group to consider organising a coach in conjunction with your local Amnesty group and mobilising to fill it from your town or city.
  • This would entail contacting key supporters across your networks and other organisations such as refugee support groups that have grown around the global crisis and Calais, Amnesty International, Local Refugee Welcome Groups and any other solidarity groups / organisations including local trade unions (or Trades Council) to check that there isn’t already a coach booked and to engage their participation.
  • Then book a coach and promote it, including via the Solidarity with Refugees Facebook pages as above. See the attached document which provides a helpful guide to booking a coach for this event. 
  • To save significant work – tickets can be sold via Eventbrite (more info in the attached doc) and this can be advertised widely through supporter networks and social media. you may also wish to inform your local press and radio.   Those who can’t go to London for the day may wish to purchase tickets and inform the organiser of this so the seat can be allocated to an asylum seeker / refugee.So your promotion can be to all supporters even if they don’t join the march.
  • Its also possible to set up a crowdfunder to help ensure that coach costs are underwritten, regardless of how many seats are sold.
  • Tell us if you have organised a coach and bring your banners!
I may be able to access some funding for refugee / asylum seeker places if you cannot get them sponsored by local supporters so please email me if you have any such a requests.
2.  A conference on 27th September in Coventry on mental health and asylum seekers:  Refugees’ Journeys: Wellbeing, Justice and Resilience. Please look at the attached flyer for more information about this excellent event in partnership with The Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre, Coventry University, Coventry and Warks NHS Trust and others.  Please consider who might wish to go from your group and also circulate it amongst any health practitioners,  CCG or NHS Trust contacts. This is an important aspect of our health streams work. 
3.  The Welcome Summit on the 10th September in Birmingham will be of particular interest to groups engaging with Syrian resettlement campaigns and the resettlement of child refugees ( e.g. asking your local council to take in unaccompanied asylum seeking minors under the the Dubs amendment). There will also be some media training at the event. It is organised by Citizens UK but we are supporting them and Sabir Zazai will co-chair the event. Your contributions to this national conference will be valued. CoS will also work with Refugee Action to run the Welcome workshop. Please see attached flyer and also the Eventbrite link for more information and to book your place. 
Thank you.