Bristol And Wider Support Services

Bristol asylum support services

We work closely with our partners in BRASP to support people living in the Bristol area.

• Aid Box Community—clothes, supplies, support and friendship
• Borderlands—drop-in, food, ESOL classes, sleep sessions, mentoring
• Bristol Hospitality Network—drop in, ESOL classes, food and advice service for people who are destitute
• Project Mama—mother companions for pregnant women
• Refugee Women of Bristol—drop in, ESOl classes, crèche, food,  WOMEN ONLY
• The Haven—specialist health service for people seeking asylum and refugees
• Red Cross Refugee Services—destitution support, move on support for people with status and family reunion

Please look at the information below to find out what different organisations are doing at this time.

Information about what services are being provided in Bristol can be found here:

• Albanian – Shqiptar
• Arabic – عربى
• Bengali – বাংলা
• English
• Farsi – فارسی
• French – Français
• Mandarin – 普通话
• Pashto – پښتو
• Russian – Русский
• Somali – Soomaali
• Sorani – Soranî
• Spanish – Español
• Tigrinya – ትግርኛ
• Turkish – Türk
• Ukranian – українська
• Urdu – اردو
• Vietnamese – Tiếng Việt

Useful information about asylum and immigration policy and practice

• Changes to the asylum and immigration process due to Covid-19 from Right to Remain.
• Changes to Home Office asylum and immigration policy and practice from Refugee Council.
• Coronavirus and the UK immigration system by Free Movement.

Getting help outside Bristol

If you live outside Bristol and need help, please call the Refugee Council National Information line. Freephone number: 0808 196 7272.

The service is open to individuals, professionals and community members, and will run until 31 March 2021.

For further information visit the Refugee Council website .

Other help

Right to Remain Toolkit

If you are struggling with an asylum claim, or need more information about how to start a claim, you might find the Right to Remain Tookit useful.

The Toolkit gives an overview of the legal system and procedures, with detailed information on rights and options at key stages, and actions you can take in support of your claim, or to help someone else.

As well as a comprehensive written guide, the Toolkit also contains several helpful videos which are available in 5 languages: English, Arabic, Farsi, Spanish and French.

The Toolkit is available on the Right to Remain website.

Health advice

NHS Charges — Patients not Passports has designed a toolkit to support you in advocating for people facing charges for NHS care, it is available on their website. Asylum Matters has produced a clear summary of healthcare access rights and charges for migrants. You can read it here (PDF file).

Mental Health — Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust have produce a film called Someone to talk to: a short guide for asylum-seeking people and refugees to mental health support following trauma.

Below are links to the NHS “Coping strategies for anxious times” leaflet in several languages:

• Albanian – Shqiptar
• Arabic – عربى
• Bengali – বাংলা
• English
• Farsi – فارسی
• French – Français
• Mandarin – 普通话
• Pashto – پښتو
• Polish – Polski
• Romanian – Română
• Somali – Soomaali
• Sorani – Soranî
• Tigrinya – ትግርኛ
• Turkish – Türk
• Ukrainian – Yкраїнський
• Urdu – اردو
• Vietnamese – Tiếng Việt

Accommodation and housing advice

The Shelter website has information about how asylum seekers and refugees can find accommodation.

The Windrush Generation

If you are seeking help with issues relating to the Windrush Generation there is a Home Office factsheet available here. You can get more information from Free Movement and there are details about how to apply for the Windrush Scheme on the Government website.