What are we doing locally in Winchester to support people seeking sanctuary? Here is just a few projects we have been involved in over the last year many of which continue. 

We continue to work closely with the University of Winchester on a range of initiatives. If you are a local primary or secondary school locally and would be interested in finding out more about becoming a school or university of sanctuary, then please get in touch with us.

We provide signposting, advice and guidance to people seeking sanctuary locally and to professionals looking for support for people seeking sanctuary. Our support is largely remote, online, but we do run drop-in sessions in Winchester sometimes. Please follow our social media for updates on our next sessions locally. We have been trained by Citizens Advice Winchester District to make referrals into their Advice First Aid Partnership. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss a referral or are seeking signposting information or advice.

We support access to ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes run locally, access to food banks and other services. Please get in touch if you are seeking sanctuary locally and would like to access to local services and need some advice or guidance. We can signpost you to local services if you are an asylum seeker, refugee or you do not know where to go to find out information.

We continue to work closely with Hampshire Libraries and Hampshire Cultural Trust to support the development of Libraries of Sanctuary. All Hampshire Libraries are Libraries of Sanctuary, from City of Sanctuary UK organisation, in recognition of their important work to welcome and support all sanctuary seekers in library branches.

We work closely with Winchester City Council to explore how to make Winchester a city of sanctuary and to discuss how they can be a council of sanctuary helping to embed sanctuary at the heart of local authorities. The first step Winchester City Council took was to pass a motion making a commitment towards being a place of sanctuary. They are key partners in our efforts locally and we welcome their support. There is lot’s of useful information on the council website about support available locally and about the council’s Spaces of Sanctuary (SOS) new initiative in Winchester.

We have worked closely with PlaytotheCrowd which has been awarded Theatre of Sanctuary status recently and with some of their partners on several projects, including Hat Fair, carnival making, Sanctuary Ambassador’s and with helping to embed Lived Experience in The Arts locally.

We work closely with local, regional and national partners to try and ensure that refugees are treated with compassion, respect, and dignity and to show our solidarity in standing Together with Refugees. Local organisations like SWVG, Rural Refugee Network, CLEAR Southampton, Southampton Stand Up To Racism, and Portsmouth City of Sanctuary all play invaluable roles in our local and regional communities. Please support us and them.

We are a member of the Together with Refugees coalition, advocating for a more compassionate approach to refuges. See https://togetherwithrefugees.org.uk/