How do asylum seekers understand and evalulate their well-being? What does well-being mean for those caught up in the UK's "hostile environment" for those who seek refuge in the UK? What can we learn from their understandings and experiences?

Come along to a discussion about our research report: "Beneath the surface: how asylum seekers understand and evaluate their well-being" presented by our team of researchers, Alessia Cogo, Sally Inman, Pip McCormack and Maggie Rogers.

When? -  Wednesday 2nd May at 4.30 pm
Where? - London South Bank University, Room V202, K2 Building, Keyworth Street, London SE1 6NG (see MAP)

​You can read the full text of the report on our Publications page.

​The Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers needs help in purchasing and setting up new computers and printers to be used in its three centres in East Dulwich, Peckham and Kennington. These will be used to operate its new cloud based database software, which is replacing a paper-based system. The Centre which is the largest local resource for asylum seekers and refugees depends heavily on volunteer and pro bono workers for the thousands of really vulnerable clients it helps each year. But we could be ready to make a reasonable payment if needed to ensure a successful launch for the new system. It will very substantially improve our ability to help resolve hundreds of housing, immigration, benefits and family cases faced each year by local asylum seekers and refugees. We also expect that there will be a continuing need for expert assistance in maintaining and upgrading the IT network. The project will require daytime working with staff and on premises that are typically shut overnight. But some ' out of hours' flexibility might be possible.

If you, or someone you know, has the skills and enthusiasm to help us make a massive shift in our ability to help really vulnerable clients, please contact Pauline Nandoo or John Rhodes at SDCAS at office@sdcas.org.uk.

Daniel Lewis, UK Programme Coordinator for Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP) writes about ARSP’s partnership with Southwark Day Centre:

ARSP is a German organisation, established in the late 1950s to run reconciliation programmes in countries that suffered under the Nazi regime, both before and during the Second World War. As time passes one challenge ARSP consistently faces is how to diversify its programmes whilst remaining true to its original aims of not only facilitating reconciliation, but also fighting racism, discrimination and prejudice wherever they occur.

As asylum seekers often find themselves excluded from UK society SDCAS is a perfect partner for our current UK programme, which brings around 12-16 young people from Germany and Poland to the UK every September to work in various charities across London and Coventry for a year. Providing support to these often vulnerable people corresponds directly to ARSP’s goals of fighting intolerance and exclusion and raising awareness of contemporary forms of discrimination in the thirteen different countries we currently operate in. Each year I ask the volunteers to present their projects to their peers. Usually the volunteer shows the short film produced a few years ago about SDCAS. The volunteers are always struck by the power of this film and the difficulties often encountered by asylum seekers, as well as the incredible support they receive at SDCAS. The film is always followed by a long discussion and many questions, perhaps because issues around immigration continue to remain so central to the political discourse in the UK, reflecting the relevance and importance of SDCAS’ work.

In my view it is imperative that asylum seekers have the opportunity to establish themselves in the UK and am delighted that ARSP works with an organisation like SDCAS that does so much to make this a reality.