Migrant Help is a United Kingdom-based national

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

that has been supporting migrants since 1963. The charity operates from 10 offices across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, providing advice, guidance and support to people seeking asylum,

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s and victims of modern-day

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

. Asylum support services include face-to-face advice both in initial accommodation centers and on an outreach basis, along with a nationwide

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

service. Most people seeking asylum have fled war or persecution and many arrive with limited understanding of life in the UK. Migrant Help provides them with advice, information and support to negotiate the asylum system, access services and overcome the challenges of integration. Migrant Help works on Syrian Resettlement programs with local authorities in

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...

, welcoming new families to the UK and supporting and orienting them to their new communities over an extended period. The charity supports access to local

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

and education services, English lessons, specialist

counselling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of c ...

, managing

budget A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...

s and becoming work ready. Migrant Help also supports victims of modern-day slavery and human trafficking in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The charity works with a number of organisations around the UK including local authorities, strategic partners and volunteer groups on community-based schemes.

Clear Voice

Clear Voice is a trading subsidiary of Migrant Help that delivers professional

interpreting Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

and

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

services. Clear Voice interpreters work extensively with refugees and people seeking asylum. Clear Voice was established by Migrant Help in 2008 to provide high quality, cost-effective language services. Clear Voice specialises in the provision of telephone interpreting, face-to-face interpreting and translation services across the UK. All of Clear Voice’s profits are returned to Migrant Help, supporting the parent charity’s work. In 2022, Clear Voice delivered over 9.3 million minutes of telephone interpreting. This resulted in a donation of £1.7 million to Migrant Help.

History

Kent Committee for the Welfare of Migrants

The charity now known as Migrant Help was set up in 1963 by Helen Ellis MBE, a leading figure in the provision of welfare support to migrants travelling through the

Port of Dover The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pas ...

. The organisation, known at this time as the Kent Committee for the Welfare of Migrants (KCWM), was established in response to the growing number of migrants arriving at the

Channel Ports The Channel Ports are seaports in southern England and northern France, which allow for short crossings of the English Channel. There is no formal definition, but there is a general understanding of the term. Some ferry companies divide their rout ...

. In 1970, immigrants were given right of

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

against decisions relating to their entry. The United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service (UKIAS), funded by the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

, was established to represent migrants on 'appeal'. KCWM worked alongside the UKIAS to support the welfare of migrants arriving at the ports in Kent.

Migrant Helpline

In 1993, Helen Ellis retired after 50 years of service to migrants. In the following year (1994), the charity adopted the new name of Migrant Helpline. That same year, the charity received a grant from the Home Office to deliver support services to newly arrived people seeking asylum. In 2002, Migrant Helpline was asked by the Home Office to establish and operate the first Induction Center. Here, briefings were delivered to people seeking asylum about the asylum process and their rights and responsibilities. Migrant Helpline's operation expanded to London and a reception service for people seeking asylum opened in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

. The charity was funded to manage the London accommodation center for newly arrived people seeking asylum, known as 'Emergency Initial Accommodation'. A number of projects were established in the following years including the 'Sunrise' project to help new refugees integrate into life in the UK, a 'Training and Employment' project was launched for refugees in Kent (until 2009) and Migrant Helpline was invited to provide an independent advisory service to foreign national prisoners in Canterbury Prison. The 'European Migrant Advice' service was established in response to an increased need for support for EU migrants. This service was later extended in 2010 to meet support needs in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

and

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. In 2008, the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Center approached the charity to provide support for victims of labour exploitation. The Victims of Slavery Support Service team was established.

Migrant Help

In 2010, Migrant Helpline became known as Migrant Help. The charity continues to work to improve the lives of vulnerable migrants in partnership with other organisations and community groups. Migrant Help was shortlisted for Charity Awards in 2016 for innovation in advice and support to people seeking asylum.

Funding

Migrant Help has received significant

funding since 1994. In 2019, it secured a £100 million contract to run the Home Office system called “Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE)” services, and act as the official point of contact for refugees to get advice on their asylum claims. In 2021, the value of this Home Office contract rose to £235 million.

Projects

Throughout its lifetime Migrant Help has participated in a number of programs supporting migrants and refugees. These projects have been undertaken both independently and in association with other organisations, in particular the Home Office.

Employment

Migrant Help employs 454 people from 40 different countries of origin. Approximately 47% of staff are non-UK born and many have personal experiences of the refugee journey. Migrant Help holds the "Investors in People" accreditation, is authorised by the Office of Immigration Services Commissioner, holds an Advice Quality Standard mark and is a

National Living Wage The National Living Wage is an obligatory minimum wage payable to workers in the United Kingdom aged 21 and over which came into effect on 1 April 2016. it is £12.21 per hour. It was implemented at a significantly higher rate than the national ...

employer.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.migranthelpuk.org/ Crisis hotlines Organisations based in the London Borough of Islington Refugee aid organisations in the United Kingdom