What is community sponsorship?

Westbury Welcome is part of a government scheme which enables community groups that are determined to give refugees a better future, the power to sponsor and resettle them in their area. The current scheme is open to people who have become refugees as a result of the Syrian conflict. We are one of a number of groups which operates under the umbrella of Citizens UK. We’re also approved as sponsors by the Home Office and Bristol City Council.

Through community sponsorship we can support refugee families to become independent members of their new community, by:

  • Finding suitable accommodation for at least two years

  • Raising at least £9,000 to cover costs

  • Meeting the family when they arrive in the UK

  • Introducing them to the local neighbourhood

  • Helping them to access English classes and understand British culture

  • Getting children into schools or colleges

  • Making sure the family has access to medical care

  • Helping them to find work

  • Providing advice and friendship

We take on the responsibility of supporting the family as they settle into the UK. This would otherwise be done by a local council and refugee charities. The group makes a commitment to support the family for a year, though the relationships made during this time may well last for much longer.

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“I feel a bright future for my children. Before I came here, I was scared. Where will I live? Will I be able to learn the language? The thing is impossible. We are now happy here and we have not thought of anything other than how to achieve our dreams of knowledge and the future.

My children enrolled in schools and they were all happy with what we found from the interest there. Hope and future ahead of us. England is a country that understands and respects people, regardless of who they are and where they respect humanity and appreciate the feelings of others.”

The mother of the resettled family

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Responding to the refugee crisis

There has been civil war in Syria since 2011. According to the UN over 6.7 million people have fled Syria as a result of the conflict and many more are displaced within the country.

Many refugees are now living in refugee camps in Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, with most living in poverty. The UN refugee agency UNHCR is responsible for identifying refugees and providing assistance for them.

The vulnerable persons’ resettlement scheme (VPRS)

This scheme was started in 2014 as a response to the refugee crisis that came out of the war in Syria. In 2015 the government made a commitment to settle 20,000 refugees by the end of 2020. Under the scheme, the Home Office worked with the UN to identify the most vulnerable refugees, who were then offered the chance to come to the UK. Local councils then took responsibility for supporting the refugees. Now that this commitment has been met, resettlement of refugees will continue under the UKRS (United Kingdom Resettlement Scheme) which will be open to 'the world's most vulnerable refugees'. The Home Office will continue to work with the UN and Local Authorities and Community Sponsorship Groups will continue to support resettlement in their local areas. No other detail is available at present.

Bristol has been involved in the scheme from its outset, and Bristol City Council has welcomed hundreds of people to our already diverse city. Community Sponsorship was added to this scheme in 2016, allowing local groups to play their part in welcoming refugee families.

“When the war erupted in Syria, my children and I were young and the house was alone and we had spent our days in the ditch under the house. The army were dropping barrel bombs and then we had the opportunity to escape through trucks and we were taken to the border and we continued on foot until we got to the Pearl of Jordan. We suffered a lot in Jordan until we were about to settle down and we stayed in Jordan for five years until I heard about immigration to the countries of Europe.”

The mother of the resettled family