Volunteering Project             Befriending project            Advocacy and interpreting

Aims and objectives

– To develop volunteering amongst Albanian speaking refugees and asylum seekers so they can tackle disadvantage and poverty in their community.

Volunteering will enable them to benefit themselves with new skill and improved mental health benefit their community by providing support to those with high needs improving their well being and quality of life. We aim to develop two new services by providing training and support to 14 volunteers and to increase the range of services and also the number of families and individuals we work with through the project.

PROJECT ADDRESS

Volunteering Project

SHPRESA PROGRAMME
The Froud Centre
1 Toronto Avenue
Manor Park
London, E12 5JF

The service we offer is free and available:
9:30 — 5:00 Monday to Friday

Contact Person

Project Development Worker
Evis Bodlli

Project Manager
Luljeta Nuzi

Tel:
020 8911 8973

Fax:
020 8911 8973

E-Mail:
shpresaprogramme@yahoo.co.uk

Befriending project

We match volunteers with families or individuals who have high support needs and who need support with resettlement. They will visit people at least once a week for an initial period of 10 weeks. Volunteers will undergo befriending /mentoring training and they will:

- Orientate the family/individual into the local area showing them the location of shops/leisure facilities, local schools, health clinics and GP surgeries, etc.

- Provide practical support with filling ,making appointments registering with a docto,r etc.

- Introduce users to a range of other services in the area, eg Training/education in English,IT, develop parenting skills, etc.

- Ensure users have access to other Shpresa provides eg: Women's support group, children and youth activities, etc.

- Organize different activites such as going to the parks,libraries, museums etc, helping families to reduce the boredom and isolation they experience as refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.

The success of this project depends on the volunteers and this year has shown that the Albanian speaking community is able to offer support to the other members of the community who need support.

Befriending support case study

Mr Shyqyri found Mr Hasan 64 years old sleeping rough and in a very bad state and brought to shpresa programme. For 12 weeks Mr Hasan was befriended by a number of volunteers because he needed a very intensive support.He had lost all his documents NI, Previous Income support information. He was accompanied and registered with GP, Volunteers and the Volunteer Development worker tried very hard to find him an emergency accommodation and thanks to the hospitality of Mr………………. who accommodated him in house he was able to celebrate the new year indoors. He was accompanied to the Benefit Agency, all his correspondence was read and translated to him by the volunteers.

Now he is accommodated in the hotel and is waiting to be placed in a temporary accommodation. He brings his letters to us and we make sure that he understands them and attends all his appointments and interviews.

One of our male volunteers talks to him every week to make sure that he gets all the emotional support.

Advocacy and interpreting service

- Most of our client have luck of English and confidence and don't have enough information regarding their rights and obligations. This service enables us to accompany client to GP, Solicitors, Clicnis, schools and other agencies as the needs occurs. Each year we will have minimum 6-7 volunteers who will provide advocacy and interpreting for families and individuals from the Albanian speaking community. Volunteers also provide interpreting for clients over the phone.

Volunteers translate letters, bills and documents for our users and support them as they struggle to run their lives with little or no English.

They also provide emotional and or advocacy support for asylum seekers and refugees who do not understand statutory and health systems within UK . Volunteers will act as health advocates for those in need of support to teams, The NHS New Entrants Service, Sure Start, GPs, colleges and training providers. Volunteers will refer service users and support them with accessing health services, education and training and legal advise. The interpreting and advocacy service will often be the first point of contact for users and volunteers will inform them of other services Shpresa provides.

Volunteers work as interpreters and advocates Monday to Friday during office hours.

We make sure that we don't give immigration advice because we are not registered to do so. However we are working in partnership with another refugee organization RAMP who are registered to give immigration advise to provide this service which is very needed for our community.

Advocacy case study

Shpresa Programme aims to respond to the need of the community so from September 2004 the volunteers have helped a great number of families to benefit from it.

Kastrati family was living in a flat condition of which was very unsafe. Shpresa's volunteers made a number of attempts to get her voice and concern heard. A number of calls were made to the landlord, the letting agency, Little Ilford Sure Start, Council. Nothing happened. We contacted the Environmental health department and council and arrange a visit at their house. They accepted that the house was unsafe for both of the families living in that house. The Kastrati family was told to go to move straightway to hotel. Something that was very hard for the family to do because they were scared of losing the support that they had and the children should be brought to the school from far and start all over again. We were there to ensure that we would go to support the family and arrange other supporting the new area. The case continues. We would like this family to be back here in Manor Park and we are working hard to make it happen.