How to Flatshare with a Refugee?

We all know there is a huge refugee crisis in Europe at the moment. It’s been going on for months, and it doesn’t look like stopping any time soon.

But do you actually know how many refugees there are here in the UK? A 2010 report published by the British Red Cross estimated up to 500,000 could be inside the UK, emphasising that even the Government had no reliable figures on this critical issue – and that was even before the crisis in Syria.

Last year, David Cameron announced that the UK will accept 20,000 state-sanctioned Syrian refugees. It is fantastic that all these people will be housed under a government scheme, but there are thousands of asylum seekers already in the UK who need help now. Here’s how you can get involved.

Local Charities

A lot of the work to help these people is performed by charities. This is because the government won’t help people, or give them the right to work, until they can prove they are refugees.

If you’re determined to directly help an asylum seeker (and their family) by providing accommodation, a good way to do this is to get in touch with your local charity. You can let them know how many people you can take and for how long.

A list of national and local charities is at the bottom of this post.

National Campaigns

Away from the grassroots level, Rooms for Refugees is an international organization seeking to register as many Northern European and American refugee hosts as possible. If you want to sign up and flatshare with a refugee, click here.

Many people think that 20,000 refugees over four years (i.e. 5,000 a year) isn’t enough for a crisis that has seen the number of refugees landing in Europe hit up to 2,000 a day.

If you think this, you can sign this petition asking for a Commons debate over accepting more refugees.

Even if you can’t take a refugee into a property you own, supporting the charities which do provide accommodation is a hugely important task.

Other Ways You Can Help

There are some really innovative and heartwarming ways to help refugees in the UK and abroad.

Although it has fallen off the news cycle recently, there are still thousands of people in the so-called ‘Calais Jungle’ – the tent campsite of refugees and migrants at the Calais terminal. Help Refugees have set up an Amazon Wishlist where you can buy specifically what people need on the ground, delivered straight to the people who need it.