North of England Refugee Service

North of England Refugee Service

The North of England Refugee Service (NERS) was established in 1989 as an independent, charitable organization existing to meet the needs and promote the interests of asylum seekers and refugees who have arrived, or have settled in the North of England. NERS acts as an agent of positive change in order to promote social inclusion and equal participation within British society.

Mentoring Project:

The Mentoring Project has brought significant improvement to the lives of asylum seekers and members of the host community. The mentoring relationship has enabled asylum seekers to develop a trusting friendship with a person from the host community who can help them to meet their goals, improve their self-confidence, to develop their knowledge of the local area and most importantly to increase their feeling of belonging to the local community.

This friendship has also enabled mentors to learn about a new culture and has offered them the opportunity to introduce their culture and their local area while using their skills, experience and knowledge to significantly improve the lived experience of another individual. All mentors and mentees have found the experience to be very positive.

Personal Development Plan:

NERS has also worked on the creation of an online Personal Development Plan (PDP)and it is based on the Distance to the Labour Market (DLM) model.  The PDP helps individuals to plan and map their journey from unemployment to employment. It was developed as a tool to be used by asylum seekers with their mentor or support worker to enable them to plan for their future. Features of the PDP include:

• Identifying an individuals' skills and experience - What skills does the person have to build on, what relevant experience do they have?
• Identifying possible barriers - What is standing in the way of the person achieving their goals?
• Constructing a development plan for the future - Where does the person want to be and what do they want to achieve?
• Setting an action plan – How will the person ensure they work towards their goals practically and who and where should they approach for assistance?
• Reviewing progress – What is working, what isn’t and what needs changing.

This framework provides a common approach for partners to offer support for people entering employment and training. Top

EASI learns with NERS

• NERS has developed a person-centred approach to preparing asylum seekers for the labour market, in particular through the Personal Development Plan.
• NERS has developed good practice in terms of recruiting, training, supporting volunteers, mentors and mentees has found the mentoring and volunteering elements of the project extremely successful and.
• NERS has recognised the lack of coordinated regional ESOL provision and the lack appropriate childcare provision as serious concerns. To try to improve this situation NERS has developed a Regional ESOL (REG) to highlight and tackle the growing issues regarding ESOL provision within the North East. The group aims to build the capacity of the regional voluntary community sector to influence regional ESOL providers and agencies to further coordinate and improve services.

NERS has produced:

• A welcome pack for people interested in volunteering with the Mentoring Project.
• A detailed training programme which a mentor must attend before big matched with their mentee.
• Personal Development Plan.

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More about EASI's Volunteering Activities:

Find out about the volunteering activities of tandem, Refugee Women's Association, Education Action International, Elthorne Learning Centre, Refugee Council and Hackney City Farm and EASI's transnational volunteering successes. Top

Useful Contacts:

For more information about NERS contact Deborah Booth, Mentoring Project Coordinator, or Mohamed Nasraldin, Employment Project Coodinator.

Address:
North of England Refugee Service
2 Jesmond Road West
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 4PQ

Telephone: 0191 245 7311 Top