International Alert is a peacebuilding organisation that works with people directly affected by conflict in order to break cycles of violence. We are currently supporting their ‘Peace Through Play’ initiative in Lebanon. They work with local partners to provide therapeutic play sessions to support children who are experiencing trauma from their experiences as refugees from the Syrian war.

The programme supports children in coping with their difficult surroundings; to understand their rights; to protect themselves form harm; to communicate peacefully; and to accept and tolerate differences with others.

We have worked with UNHCR, the Home Office and RESET to support Community Sponsorship groups in North Devon to help resettle vulnerable refugee families from conflict areas. You can read all about this aspect of our work and watch a video about how you can get involved in supporting other families to resettle in the area here.

Encompass Southwest is a local charity that provides a range of advice, information and support services in communities across Devon and Somerset. It concentrates on financial inclusion and housing. Their services include support for the street homeless, tenancy support, employment and training. They also have a particular focus on providing outreach services to assist individuals and families facing rural poverty.

RefuAid provides a practical response to forced migration to the UK by providing access to language tuition, education, finance and employment. They do this by partnering with language schools, corporate partners and an interest free loan scheme. We provided grant support to their caseworkers who work with migrants to support them in finding ways to overcome the language, education, employment and financial barriers they face.

Coram is a charity that works to improve the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children and young people. We support their work with refugee, migrant and trafficked children.

We provided some funding for their ‘Better Chances for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Children Programme’. This programme is based on the pioneering work of Dr. Ana Draper on sleep disruption. Most unaccompanied asylum seekers have problems with sleep patterns due to a range of factors including experiences of war / bereavement / separation and traumatic journeys with high risks. Such children have a high risk of developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Coram’s Early intervention framework is designed to help promote sleep and resilience.

Synergy Theatre Project works towards rehabilitation and resettlement with prisoners and ex-prisoners through theatre and related activities, whilst placing the wider issues surrounding criminal justice in the public arena. Their work is founded on the belief that theatre can be transformative and challenge the perceptions of both prisoners and society.

We currently support their education programme that engages young people who are most at risk of entering the criminal justice system. Alongside professional practitioners they use trained ex-prisoners, whose first hand experience of the consequences of crime, brings authenticity to the work. Their touring productions reach young people in schools, Pupil Referral Units and Youth Offending Institutes across London.

Doctors of the World UK is part of the global Medecins du Monde network that delivers over 400 projects in 80 countries through 3000 volunteers. Its vision is for a world in which vulnerable people affected by war, natural disasters, disease, hunger, poverty or exclusion, get the healthcare they need regardless of income or status.

We are really pleased to have been a long term supporter of their UK based programme. This includes support for their family clinic that provides medical care, information and practical assistance to vulnerable people including migrants, asylum seekers and those of no fixed abode. Volunteer GP’s, nurses and support workers run the clinic.