Sanctuary Seeker Support Volunteer
LBTH Resettlement and Migration Team
LBTH's Resettlement & Migration Team supports sanctuary seekers living in Tower Hamlets, including Afghan and Ukrainian households, asylum seekers and refugees. We are seeking 2 Support Volunteers to help the Tower Hamlets Welcome Hub in Shadwell. You will support the duty team to help residents access services, complete simple forms and feel confident navigating local support. This is a varied, office-based opportunity within a busy, supportive team environment, available Tues-Thur afternoons.
LBTH's Resettlement & Migration Team supports sanctuary seekers living in Tower Hamlets, including Afghan and Ukrainian households, asylum seekers and refugees. The team provides practical, emotional and coordination support to residents through casework, advice, signposting, advocacy, home visits, hotel-based work, community engagement and close partnership working with council services and voluntary sector partners. We are seeking 2 Support Volunteers to help the Tower Hamlets Welcome Hub in Shadwell. You will support the duty team to help residents access services, complete simple forms and feel more confident navigating local support. This is a varied, office-based opportunity within a busy and supportive team environment. Main volunteer tasks may include: • help residents to complete basic forms, such as housing benefit forms or homelessness referral forms. • support ESOL or learning activities as a teaching assistant. • help to create simple resources to support learning and access to services. • help to distribute welfare items, such as coats, toiletries and other essential goods. • support residents to access local services by providing information and signposting. • scan and email paper documents when needed. • enter simple information onto Excel spreadsheets. You will work alongside members of the Resettlement & Migration Duty Team and other Welcome Hub staff. You will NOT be expected to provide specialist advice, make safeguarding decisions, or work alone with complex cases. Where language support is needed, interpreting or translation services may be used. For this role you need to be available for 1 afternoon a week between Tuesday and Thursday (1pm-5pm). The role is open to anyone aged 16+. You will need to have a DBS check which the Council will arrange and pay for. The role will be based at the Tower Hamlets Welcome Hub in Shadwell. There is no fixed start date at this stage, but the team is looking for support as soon as a suitable volunteer is identified and the necessary checks, induction and arrangements are in place.
Administration,Advice, Information & Support,Community Work,Languages & Translation
Admin, Basic IT skills - internet & email, Language Skills, Organising & Planning
You should • be welcoming, patient and organised. • confident using basic IT, including email, scanning documents and simple Excel spreadsheets. • have good communication skills and be sensitive to people’s different experiences. • understand the importance of confidentiality and professional boundaries. Experience of working with diverse communities, migrants, refugees or people seeking sanctuary would be helpful, but it is not essential. If you speak one of the following languages, it would be an asset but is not essential: Arabic, Albanian, Farsi, Pashto or Tigrinya.
This opportunity will give you practical experience of supporting refugees, asylum seekers and other sanctuary seekers in a community-based setting. Volunteers will be part of a supportive team environment and will gain insight into how local services work together to support people rebuilding their lives in Tower Hamlets. You will • develop communication skills by supporting residents from a range of backgrounds and experiences. • gain practical experience of form-filling, basic IT, scanning documents, emailing and using simple Excel spreadsheets. • learn more about confidentiality, professional boundaries and appropriate signposting. • gain experience of working with interpreting or translation services, where language support is needed. • build your understanding of local authority, housing, benefits, health, education and voluntary sector support systems. • have the opportunity to make a positive difference to people who are settling into the borough and accessing essential support. • build confidence, workplace experience and transferable skills that could support future employment, training or study in advice work, community work, social care, housing, migration support or public services.
One afternoons a week, 1pm to 5pm between Tuesday and Thursday. You should be able to commit to at least 6 months.
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Tower Hamlets Welcome Hub, Ocean Children & Family Centre (Shadwell Site), 418-422 Cable Street, London
Seven minutes walk from Shadwell DLR and Overground Station
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