Stable homes for settled lives – Kew refugee charity celebrates 10th anniversary
This year marks a decade since residents of Kew rallied to help refugees displaced in the Syrian crisis. What started as a group of volunteers has now bloomed into a charity – Refugees Welcome in Richmond. Coverage of international conflicts may ebb and flow in the media – but the need remains for stable homes for people who have sought sanctuary here until it is safe for them to return home.
Valerie Booth and Elizabeth Byrne-Hall live in the same street in Kew. Moved by the plight of those displaced in the Syrian crisis in 2015, they put candidates on the spot at a General Election hustings event. What would they do to help, the pair demanded. The Green candidate impressed with her call for action, and the seed was sown. The pair got to work lobbying Richmond Council, then under Conservative control. The authority agreed to accept and assist Syrian refugees in the borough, so long as Booth and Byrne-Hall, then joined by other volunteers, could find appropriate homes.
It’s now a decade since the first refugees arrived. The movement founded by these two Kew residents has now grown into a registered charity – Refugees Welcome in Richmond (RWinR) – and many refugees – from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, Ukraine mainly – have been provided with help and support. “It’s one of the best things I have done in my life,” says Booth.
The search for homes remains the priority, the need as acute as ever, which is why the charity has embarked on a new campaign seeking out affordable accommodation for refugees. The ask has two dimensions: self- contained properties which could be let to families, and rooms in homes which could be rented to one or two people. The big hurdle remains making this add up financially. Market rents are high in the borough, and the local housing allowance – which dictates the level of universal credit available to refugees until they get work – has been frozen and has not caught up. However, along with placing the tenants, Richmond Council is offering incentive payments and help with council tax, furnishings and refurbishment. Volunteers from RWinR are assigned to families to provide practical assistance – from accessing language courses to registering with schools and GP practices.
The letting of property in this way at this time is a genuine opportunity for landlords with charitable instincts who are keen to promote the social good. The charity says past experience clearly shows the value. Eight years on, one Syrian family remains in the same home rented to them by a couple who moved out of London but were not ready to sell up. They have become friends. The landlords say they are really pleased to have seen the family settle. They have been model tenants. Both parents have jobs they like, and the stability has ensured their children have thrived in Richmond schools. The oldest has just started at university. They say they are grateful for the opportunity to become part of this community until it is safe enough to return home.
RWinR knows that the availability of homes is limited but hopes that this project may appeal in particular to people who inherit, or otherwise have made available to them, property which they don’t need to use themselves but don’t need to sell. On the second strand, for people who might consider taking in lodgers, there are special arrangements to support the tenancy – agreed for six months in the first instance – and back up from charity workers and volunteers.
It has grown from an idea hatched in a Kew kitchen to a charity now experienced and ready for the next challenge. For RWinR’s founder Valerie Booth, there’s still a frustration at the many constraints faced, but few regrets – “It has been very rewarding and I have been grateful for the opportunity to help.”
For more information see contact details below:
Email Housing@refugeeswelcomeinrichmond.org
Phone/whatsapp 07850 090917
Website: Refugeeswelcomeinrichmond.org