West London Welcome is a community centre run for and with refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and other locals living in West London, and the only one of its kind in the area. We were set up by local people.

https://www.westlondonwelcome.com/

Why the community needs us
West London has some of the highest concentrations of temporary Home Office accommodation for newly-arriving asylum-seeking families and individuals in the country, who live on only £9 per week subsistence money and are banned from working or receiving benefits. These asylum-seeking people are in urgent need of immediate support and advice. There are also many other locally-living people from refugee and migrant backgrounds who are highly isolated and in huge need of a community to become part of. 

We know that it takes time to find a way to belong, especially after leaving one's own country under traumatic conditions, so we strive to give people that time. West London Welcome believes that all people, regardless of immigration status or background, need dignity and their human rights respected, and that local communities should be at the forefront of supporting those facing profound life challenges related to refuge and migration. We work together to build a safe, positive experience of community. The centre provides a warm space for people to come in out of the cold, make friends, share ideas, eat good hot food, have childcare, use our foodbank and clothes bank, learn English, get legal advice and casework support, take creative and educational classes, go on trips, get phones, laptops, and destitution support, and escape chaotic accommodation and isolation.

Our impact on the community
We support on average 200 people each week, who originally come from more than 52 countries including Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Egypt, Palestine, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Vietnam, Albania, and El Salvador. Our community welcomes people from a wide range of immigration statuses and of all ages, including families, unaccompanied young people, and older people. Members, staff and volunteers work together in our centres to lead projects and sessions collectively, which means friendships and support networks in the community are developed and sustained over time. We’re continuously growing as a community to support each other, learn from each other, and have fun together.