The North of England Refugee Service (NERS) is an independent and charitable organisation which exists to meet the needs and represent the interests of asylum seekers and refugees who have arrived or have settled in the North East of England. NERS acts as an agent of positive change in order to improve the conditions of life for asylum seekers and refugees and promote social inclusion by facilitating their integration and equal participation within British society.

History

The North of England Refugee Service was established in 1989. It is an independent charitable organisation, and exists to meet the needs and promote the interests of asylum seekers and refugees who have arrived or have settled in the North of England. Since April 2000 NERS has been operating the One Stop Service contract in the North east. This service is available to all asylum seekers who are entitled to support from the Home Office " National Asylum Support Service" (NASS) which was established under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. As well as working directly with asylum seekers, NERS is also involved in a host of other refugee related work. Their website features the work in detail and reports opinions on issues related to their work. The North of England Refugee Service works in partnership with many other refugee organisations, including the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

Refugee Council The Refugee Council is a UK based organisation which works with refugees and asylum seekers. The organisation provides support and advice to refugees and asylum seekers, as well as support for other refugee and asylum seeker organisations. The R ...

Scottish Refugee Council The Scottish Refugee Council is a registered charity that provides advice and services to asylum seekers and refugees. The objective of the organisation is ‘building a better future with refugees in Scotland’. The charity was formed in E ...

Welsh Refugee Council The Welsh Refugee Council is a sister organisation to the Refugee Council and Scottish Refugee Council, and works to help asylum seekers and refugees in Wales. About The Welsh Refugee Council (WRC) is a Wales-based charity committed to pr ...

, Northern Refugee Centre, and

Refugee Action Refugee Action is an independent national charity founded in 1981 that provides advice and support to refugees and asylum seekers in the UK and campaigns for a fairer asylum system. It is governed by a board of trustees chaired by Penny Lawrence. ...

Work

The North of England Refugee Service's head office at

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, along with other offices in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. The charity's main activities are providing support and advice to asylum seekers and refugees themselves as well as to other organisations, undertaking research and policy work, and campaigning on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers. The Refugee Service is a member organisation of the

Asylum Support Partnership The Asylum Support Partnership (ASP) is the largest asylum seeker support organisations in the United Kingdom and claims to be the only one giving asylum support over the whole of Britain. The mission of the Partnership (ASP) is to ensure that 'al ...

Support and advice

North of England Refugee Service has received exemption from the

OISC Oisc (also Æsc or Esc, pronounced “oish” or “ash”) was an early king of Kent who — according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle — ruled from 488-512CE. He seems to be the same person as Ansehis (or Anschis) who is described as a leader o ...

to provide immigration advice. The Regional offices provide services to asylum seekers and refugees including: *Advice about where to apply for support, and help with applying; *Information about the UK's 'dispersal policy'; *Information about other services which can assist; *Help with problems with accommodation, racial harassment, physical and mental health; and *Help with appealing against rejection of a UKBA support application. These services are available either in the North of England Refugee Service offices or on the phone.

Campaigning

The North of England Refugee Service has been campaigning on Asylum issues and supports the

campaign Proud to Protect pledge which with the help of celebrity supporters gathered over 10,000 signatures.

References

{{Reflist

External links