Southampton & Winchester Visitors Group

Southampton & Winchester Visitors Group

Working with asylum seekers and refugees

About us

We are a group of volunteers who
befriend and support asylum seekers
and refugees in the Southampton area.
Find out more about how we work,
our partners and supporters.

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Get involved

There are so many ways you can help!
You can train as a visitor, organise events,
help raise money and awareness
or simply make an online donation.

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About asylum

Want to learn more about the issues?
Meet some of the asylum seekers
we’ve supported, and get the facts
about asylum seekers and refugees.

Read more

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Growing food on our allotment

SWVG’s allotment has kept providing fresh food throughout the lockdown, which started just as the planting season began. People were allowed to work on allotments, as long as they got there on foot or bicycle. With volunteer help, we kept down the weeds, looked after the fruit bushes and grew a range of hardy veg. Thank goodness we’d already bought seed potatoes. All the other veg has been grown from seed or from seedlings donated by volunteers and friends.

SWVG events

SWVG usually has events throughout the year, such as fundraising opportunities, talks and workshops. Sorry, but events are fewer because of restrictions from COID 19. Our events page lists events past and future.

Experiences

THE JOURNEY FROM ERITREA TO THE UK

This moving short film North Star Fading is based on the testimonies of three Eritrean women who made the journey from Eritrea to the UK between 2006 – 2012 overland through Ethiopia, Sudan, Libya, the Mediterranean, Europe and to the UK. Two of the women were sent back to Eritrea after failed asylum cases and one of the women made the journey again and was successfully granted asylum in the UK on her second attempt.

The film stitches together illustrations to produce a ‘continuous zoom’ effect that draws audiences in to their extreme, relentless journey.

LEARN ABOUT IMMIGRATION

You may want to read this excellent briefing on immigration from the BBC, January 2020

RSS Stories and Analysis from Refugee Action

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a serious threat to refugees and asylum seekers. 

Asylum seekers have a very limited income of £37.50 a week, so are particularly vulnerable to food shortages and price hikes. Some have no recourse to public funds due to their immigration status, and aren’t eligible for even this government support. Some have no income for food, toiletries or other essentials like mobile credit/internet access.  If you can help, please donate to SWVG partners CLEAR  or Southampton Action.

The vast majority of refugees live in poorer countries. Many are living in overcrowded settlements that are the perfect breeding ground for the virus, and have little or no health information. UNHCR is training healthcare workers and providing hygiene supplies. They urgently need help. If you can, please give to protect vulnerable refugee families across the globe.

SWVG activities under coronavirus
SWVG has closed all face-to-face events. Our volunteers are doing all they can to support people without breaking Government instructions.

Please give

Help us to improve the lives of asylum seekers in the Southampton area and support those that are destitute. SWVG is run by volunteers; very little money is spent on overheads.

Donate

Words from someone seeking asylum

SWVG, no words are enough describe what you are to me. You're my best friend. You're my family. You gave me hope when I had no hope. You gave me strength to go on in this trying moment. All your visitors are awesome.

Sara, Client

Words from a visitor

The strength of clients is humbling: their resourcefulness, courage coming here and not being welcomed or believed. There is a sense of personal responsibility and respect and not letting each other down.

John, Visitor

Find out more

  You can read our 2020 Brochure that outlines the work SWVG has been doing over the previous year here.
For full details of our work, see our Charity Commission pages here.

Petitions

SWVG invites you to add your name to these petitions.

Let people seeking asylum work
150,000 people have signed the petition to #LiftTheBan and give people seeking asylum the right to work. Join them by signing the petition :https://act.refugee-action.org.uk/page/29178/petition/1?ea.tracking.id=4u2iqipp
Allow overseas-qualified doctors to practice in the UK
Hundreds of doctors living in the UK qualified abroad are prevented from joining the NHS coronavirus response by long and expensive bureaucratic processes. Join the call to register them to practice. Sign the petition.