People Seeking Asylum
Sundial supports people seeking asylum through projects and information sharing
Our workshop series for people seeking asylum covers issues including culture, values, beliefs and interactions, gender roles, the role of community, healthy relationships, consent, abuse, harmful practices and support services. We deliver our workshops in multiple languages and all workshops are co-facilitated with people with lived experience of the asylum seeking or immigration system.
People seeking asylum can be particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation due to their experiences that can involve mental illness, trauma, violence and rape. Additionally, they may struggle to communicate or understand the complexities of adjusting to a new society, with different expectations and support systems. Our workshops increase understanding of issues such as consent, where to obtain support and the role of police and social care, supporting healthy relationships and integration into UK society.
Oxfordshire asylum hotel project
We created and delivered ‘Culture Explorer’ workshops to support families residing at an Oxfordshire Hotel awaiting the outcome of their asylum claims. Our 3-hour workshops covered issues including healthy relationships, culture and migration, family dynamics, harmful practices and raised awareness of support services. We delivered 10 workshops for 95 residents, including young people and children, in multiple languages including Albanian, Punjabi, Arabic, Kurdish-Sorani, English, Spanish, Urdu and Persian, as well as a workshop for staff and volunteers. Our facilitators’ sensitivity and interest in the residents’ cultures scored very highly and many residents reached support they did not know was available. The helpline numbers above were displayed on an information board at the hotel at the end of the project.