SHARe Knowsley is a small local grassroots, charitable organisation that supports asylum seekers and refugees homed in Knowsley, giving practical, emotional and social support. We work closely with the British Red Cross as well as other organisations in the area so that we can signpost our service users to access local services on offer, as well as offering information, advice and whatever support is needed. We feel that what we offer is very much a person-centred approach.

Established by a small group of like-minded people, in response to the worldwide refugee crisis in 2015, we became involved in local work the following year, as Knowsley council had agreed to the dispersal of asylum seekers and the homing of refugees under the resettlement scheme to our borough. Living in an area with little cultural diversity and no existing ethnic communities for new arrivals to link with, we felt passionate that we should provide a welcome and supportive face to people already dealing with their own traumatic experiences. We offer support with trying to cope with the difficulties of living in an alien culture and environment on top of negotiating a complex asylum application process.

Since May 2016 when we began, we have been learning, adapting, changing and growing to meet the needs of this vulnerable and marginalised group, applying for charitable status towards the end of 2018 to allow us to increase our funding base. In response to the service users’ needs and suggestions as to how we could improve what we do, we evolved from providing a cup of tea and a friendly chat to our weekly drop-in providing:

• A safe space where asylum seekers can meet, engage in social activities with each other as well as local, vetted people and so build a network of supportive relationships.
• A free healthy lunch
• Advice and support to help service users access local services and to familiarise newcomers with their local area. This often leads to further support outside of the drop-in, especially when people receive a decision about their asylum claim.
• Opportunity to purchase food basics including fresh produce, other essential items such as toiletries, second hand clothing and household goods etc at a nominal cost.
• Emergency payments of £10 per person to those whose benefits have been stopped as well as free food parcels etc.
• Celebrations/social activities throughout the year outside the usual drop-in. We celebrate a range of festivals and during the Summer, we offer trips out as well as barbecues and fun days.

Demand for our service has grown considerably over the past two years. We now support over 285 people with new people arriving all the time.

SHARe Knowsley has become quite effective in advocating for the needs of our service users. We are a member of the Knowsley MAF for asylum seekers and refugees as well as the Merseyside Refugee Support Network. We are proud of the fact that not only do we receive referrals from other local organisations but we now also receive referrals from the long-established British Red Cross Refugee Support service, which we feel is testament to the quality of service that we deliver.