​St Catherine's Community Sponsorship Group

Parish Update: September 2023

In December 2021 an “open invitation” meeting of the Group was held and those attending heard a presentation about what is involved in Community Sponsorship and the support of a family resettling in the United Kingdom. The Group then reformed with several new members and from January 2022 began exhaustive attempts to source accommodation. The Group obtained Stage 1 Home Office approval to support a family resettling in the United Kingdom and was invited to submit for full Stage 2 approval once accommodation had been sourced.

The general housing situation saw demand for social and/or affordable private lets well outstripping supply. Despite detailed and exhaustive efforts via a wide range of approaches including social landlords, private landlords and insertions in the newsletter of neighbouring parishes, the Group was unable to source accommodation. Caritas Salford Diocese, who had available two residential properties within St Catherine's Parish, were not willing to offer one of them to a refugee family to be resettled under Community Sponsorship, other than on a short term, maximum two year, let and with the onus for finding alternative accommodation at the end of that let falling to the Group.

The Group’s Stage 1 approval by the Home Office therefore lapsed, as a Stage 2 application with accommodation details had not been submitted within four months. In that context, the Group reluctantly resolved in September 2022 to discontinue its attempt to resettle a refugee family through Community Sponsorship.
The Group however wished to look forward to ways in which its desire to offer practical assistance might yet be drawn upon to serve refugees, possibly through Parish initiatives, making use of the expertise and experience of its members and others in the Parish. In September 2023 an open Parish meeting received a presentation on Volunteering Opportunities with Refugees in Manchester. The list below offers links (correct at September 2023) for organisations to which volunteers could offer their help.

Volunteer Hubs
Manchester Volunteer Inspire Programme (MCRVIP) - https://mcrvip.com/
Manchester Community Central - https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/volunteer-centre-manchester

Hosting
Homes for Ukraine - https://www.gov.uk/register-interest-homes-ukraine
SJOG Homes for Ukraine - https://sjog-homesforukraine.uk/
Caritas Salford Community Sponsorship - https://www.caritassalford.org.uk/
Refugees at Home - https://refugeesathome.org/

Volunteer Roles - General
Rainbow Haven - https://www.rainbowhaven.org.uk/
Manchester City of Sanctuary - https://manchester.cityofsanctuary.org/
Revive - https://www.revive-uk.org/
Manchester Refugee Support Network - https://mrsn.org.uk/
British Red Cross - https://www.redcross.org.uk/
Caritas Salford - https://www.caritassalford.org.uk/
Host Nation - https://www.hostnation.org.uk/
Rethink Rebuild - https://www.rrsoc.org/
Ethnic Health Forum Manchester - https://www.ethnichealth.org.uk/

Volunteer roles – Groups and Practical Activities
Rainbow Haven - https://www.rainbowhaven.org.uk/
Manchester City of Sanctuary - https://manchester.cityofsanctuary.org/
Revive - https://www.revive-uk.org/
Caritas Salford - https://www.caritassalford.org.uk/
Growing Together Levenshulme - https://www.facebook.com/GrowingTogetherLevenshulme/
Rethink Rebuild - https://www.rrsoc.org/

Volunteer Roles – Specialist Skills
Rainbow Haven - https://www.rainbowhaven.org.uk/
Manchester City of Sanctuary - https://manchester.cityofsanctuary.org/
Revive - https://www.revive-uk.org/
Caritas Salford - https://www.caritassalford.org.uk/
Freedom from Torture - https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/
Rethink Rebuild - https://www.rrsoc.org/

Volunteer with Campaigning Organisations
Manchester City of Sanctuary - https://manchester.cityofsanctuary.org/
Refugee and Asylum Participatory Action research RAPAR - http://www.rapar.co.uk/
Amnesty International - https://www.amnesty.org.uk/
Freedom from Torture - https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/
Rethink Rebuild - https://www.rrsoc.org/
Refugee Action - https://www.refugee-action.org.uk/
Women Asylum Seekers Together WAST - https://www.wastmanchester.com

Donations of Goods
Revive - https://www.revive-uk.org/
Manchester Refugee Support Network - https://mrsn.org.uk/
Women Asylum Seekers Together WAST - https://www.wastmanchester.com
Refugee Aid Chorlton - https://www.facebook.com/groups/refugeeaidchorlton
Care 4 Calais - ​https://care4calais.org/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/902565640335507/

Parish Update: September 2022
In December 2021 an “open invitation” meeting of the Group was held and those attending heard a presentation about what is involved in Community Sponsorship and the support of a family resettling in the United Kingdom. The Group then reformed with several new members and from January 2022 began exhaustive attempts to source accommodation.

Supported by Caritas Salford Diocese, as Lead Sponsor, the Group obtained Stage 1 Home Office approval to support a family resettling in the United Kingdom and was invited to submit for full Stage 2 approval once accommodation had been sourced.

The general housing situation sees demand for social and/or affordable private lets well outstripping supply. Despite detailed and exhaustive efforts via a wide range of approaches including social landlords, private landlords and insertions in the newsletter of neighbouring parishes, the Group has been unable to source accommodation. Caritas Salford Diocese, who had available two residential properties within St Catherine's Parish, were not willing to offer one of them to a refugee family to be resettled under Community Sponsorship, other than on a short term, maximum two year, let and with the onus for finding alternative accommodation at the end of that let, in support of that family, falling to the Group.

The Group’s Stage 1 approval by the Home Office has therefore lapsed, as a Stage 2 application with accommodation details has not been submitted within four months. In that context, the Group reluctantly resolved in September 2022 to discontinue its attempt to resettle a refugee family through Community Sponsorship.
The Group however wished to look forward to ways in which its desire to offer practical assistance might yet be drawn upon to serve refugees through Parish initiatives, making use of the expertise and experience of its members, and potentially of others in the Parish,. The Group resolved therefore to meet in late January/early February 2023, probably with a new Group title and possibly with changed officers and members, to look at what form such Parish initiatives might take. If you are interested in taking part in any way please e-mail [email protected].​

Parish Update: December 2020
​This update to St Catherine’s Parish marks the end of the Community Sponsorship Group’s formal, two year commitment to the family and their resettlement in Manchester. It has been an amazing journey and the Group again wants to thank everyone involved including all the volunteers who got involved in a practical way with the family and all those who supported the family financially and with their prayers.

This update reports back on the key areas of work which the Group, all volunteers, carried out: Accommodation, Education, English Language, Health and Welfare, Employment and Benefits, and Finance and Fundraising. The update is written in a way which respects the family's confidentiality.

Update from the Accommodation Team
After an extensive search, the Group sourced local accommodation at an affordable rent through Southway Housing who offered the family a three-bedroom house within the Parish.  Southway are more than happy with the family as tenants and moved them from a starter to assured tenancy after a year.

The house required modernisation and refurbishment, which was split between Southway and the Group. Its extensive rear garden required a huge clearance operation. This was undertaken by a specialist contractor and funded by the Group. The front garden was revived and refreshed by Group members.
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Furnishing of the house was accomplished by purchases and donated items, through the efforts of a large number of volunteers. The Group offered assistance in helping the family deal with matters such as repairs, permissions, and installations. However, such matters are increasingly now handled directly by the family who have very much made the house their home. 

​Update from the English Language Team
Two members of the Group who are retired teachers experienced in teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL), volunteered to provide personalised ESOL support (preparing and delivering twice weekly lessons to both parents in their home for over a year) to supplement provision for the father by Manchester Adult Education Service (MAES). Other volunteers supported this by looking after the children. This then reduced to one lesson a week for each person. Lessons were based on ESOL Skills for life topics, materials and progression levels, as recommended by the Home Office.

These resources linked English with the skills the family needed to function in an English environment around health, education, shopping etc. Other members of the Group were involved in supporting the family’s learning of English. Literacy also became an increasing focus with multi sensory materials to overcome difficulties learning both English language and literacy. Materials were purchased to support their learning of English, including a PC and iPad to support their online English learning.

Since March face to face lessons in their home have ended because of Covid 19 and have switched to online lessons, although these can be difficult especially if the children are present. There are also opportunities to support with the reading of correspondence received and any issues arising in their lives. Unfortunately the English lessons provided by MAES also ceased in March and have not resumed.
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Overall the parents have become increasingly independent and have made considerable progress with English. The family appears to have enjoyed their lessons as much as the Group members involved have enjoyed their warmth and hospitality.

Update from the Health and Welfare Team
The Group’s aim was to help the parents to manage their daily living routines, meet their health needs, make links in the community and generally “settle in” to their new Manchester lives. When they arrived in November 2018, a team of Group volunteers gave their time, experience and plenty of practical help to support the parents to achieve their independence and orientation goals. The Group had prepared detailed schedules for the early months which covered a lot of ground including the rounds of shops, clinics, parks, playgroups, local services, appointments and meetings. There was travel by bus, on foot and by bike and a high level of input from Interpreters in those early days.

Right from the start, the parents welcomed everyone into their family with generous hospitality. They threw themselves into learning the many and various new ways of doing things and quickly became more independent and the level of support for Health and Welfare matters was reduced; although interpreted meetings did continue, to address ongoing issues, new challenges, particular needs and life events as they arose. The parents have worked so hard, learned so much and shown such reserves of courage, patience and good humour throughout. It has been a privilege to share in their journey. They are now confident and resourceful in managing the day to day needs of the family. They have a good understanding of their rights and responsibilities in relation to Health and Welfare statutory services and are able to draw on their own contacts for support when needed.
In December 2019 their third son was born. Group members supported the family before, during and after the maternity process.

Most recently, the parents have navigated the considerable challenges of the pandemic with enormous strength and resilience.  There has been regular communication with the mother by telephone and WhatsApp, but not face to face, mainly to try to clarify complex Government Coronavirus guidance and to respond to specific questions on Health and Welfare matters. The parents have been able to arrange and attend appointments and access NHS services independently. They have continued to build their social networks and use local amenities as much as COVID 19 restrictions allow.
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Just as for any parents trying to raise three young children in the present circumstances, they have been faced with particular anxieties and pressures (plus quite a few extra). It is a real credit to them that they have overcome the worst of these, while also coping with the language barrier and the constant fears for the safety of family they have left behind. 

Update from the Education Team
When the family arrived in November 2018, neither of the two children was of statutory school age but the Group felt it was important to explore appropriate school provision for when the boys were old enough to access nursery in a school environment. After discussion with the parents about the type of school they wanted for their sons, they chose Ladybarn Primary School. The school is a very multi cultural one with a wealth of knowledge and experience of working with refugee families.

The headteacher of the school was very supportive and also recommended pre school provision which could be accessed immediately for the elder boy. We discussed this with the family and, after an introductory visit to Brighter Beginnings, he began a part time place of fifteen hours free child care entitlement. It was a phased start and there were days, only to be expected, when he found it difficult, but with time he settled and began to enjoy the toys and interacting with other children.

Members of the Group volunteered to be part of a timetable to take him twice a week to Brighter Beginnings and collect him which allowed his mother time for her English lessons. Other Group members cared for his younger brother during these sessions taking him to the park or playing with him in the home. The younger brother duly followed in his brother’s footsteps at Brighter Beginnings. He too had no difficulty settling and was eager to go each day.

When the elder brother reached the age of three, he started in the nursery at Ladybarn Primary School where he settled in straight away and everything was going so well, with very positive reports from the school when lockdown arrived!
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It has certainly been challenging for the parents. Not only have they had to navigate the education system in this country but they have had to cope with a pandemic. We have worked with them through these challenges but they should be congratulated with how they have achieved so much in a relatively short space of time.

Update from the Employment and Benefits Team
The parents enjoyed helpful support from staff at Rusholme Job Centre in their Universal Credit application and subsequent work search interviews. Group members attended some of the father’s early work search interviews and assisted the family in other applications such as Child Benefit and Council Tax Rebate and also assisted the family in other contractual arrangements such as utilities and broadband.

Group members explored a number of employment options for the father and recently completed a CV (emphasising the father’s extensive past work experience and skills) for lodging with Rusholme Job Centre. The father has gained some work experience as a volunteer in a local park. The father also recently improved his chances of employment by passing his UK driving test. Unfortunately because of COVID 19, contact with Rusholme Job Centre has effectively gone into abeyance.

Group members also acted as the family’s bridge to officialdom for such matters as registering a birth, obtaining a biometric residence permit for the new baby and contacting other State and local companies and agencies, although increasingly the parents are themselves taking charge of such matters.

Update from the Finance and Fundraising Team
The Group was initially advised by the Home Office in 2017 that an amount of £9,000 would need to be in place to accompany the application to become a Community Sponsorship Group. This was asked for as evidence of, what the Home Office regarded, as the minimum initial figure required to provide financial support. Thanks to a very generous, large donation and many other individual ones, this figure was reached by mid-2018. As can be seen from the income figures accompanying this report, this figure was basically covered by one-off individual donations for which the Group and the family are very grateful, as they are for all extra donations such as some bucket collections held after Mass.

How other income came in, is detailed in the accompanying figures and equal thanks and appreciation is afforded to all those who contributed by standing order over two years  and to those who went out of their way, on a voluntary basis, to organise fundraising events and claim monies that might have otherwise been missed out on.

Although the house sourced for the family was unfurnished, it was so local and available at such a reasonable rent, that the Group did not want to lose it and so had to start expenditure in the form of rental payments in August 2018 in anticipation of the family’s arrival. However this did give the Group the opportunity to make it habitable and carry out some major work on the garden before the family arrived in the November 2018. The other expenditure, as set out in the accompanying schedule, commenced from their arrival. This includes some payments made to the family whilst they were awaiting receipt of Universal Credit (UC). There may be some smaller items of expenditure, overlapping the end of the Group’s commitment to the family, but there will nevertheless be an unspent surplus of over £9,000.
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As we reach the end of the two year period of the Group’s involvement with the family, our thoughts and prayers will follow them as they go forward with strength and self-reliance. The Group wishes them happy, healthy and successful futures at home in our community.

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