New team to help refugees and asylum seekers in Cornwall

Protests have taken place in Cornwall both for and against refugees and asylum seekers

A new team has been formed in Cornwall to help refugees and asylum seekers integrate into the community.

The Refugee and Asylum Seeker Outreach Team is part of Cornwall Council’s wider resettlement service, funded by the Home Office.

Due to begin working from mid-May, it is made up of five outreach and support workers, most of whom have experience supporting refugees and asylum seekers in the UK and Europe.

Nat Mitchell, refugee and asylum seeker outreach team manager, said it was important to show refugees compassion and help them feel welcome and supported.

Cornwall Council will be encouraging people to embrace National Refugee Week next month (June 19-25)

The council said numbers of refugee and asylum cases continued to rise nationally including Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children - young people seeking asylum in the UK who have been separated from their parents or carers.

Ms Mitchell said the council received more than 80 applications to join the team.

She said this showed "how passionate people in Cornwall are about helping refugees and asylum seekers".

Ms Mitchell said: "My team aims to take a very personal approach, getting out and about and using the wealth of voluntary and statutory services already available to help refugees settle and fulfil their personal goals."

'Empathy and compassion'

Barbara Ellenbroek, Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for children and families, said she was "hugely proud" the council was being proactive in helping refugees and asylum seekers.

She said: “Let us not forget that these people are here legally, and we have a duty, both moral and statutory, to help them find some solace away from the harrowing conditions they are trying to leave behind.

“Everyone has the right to feel safe and protected and the Cornish people have always prided themselves on tolerance and inclusivity.

"So let us all show empathy and compassion to anyone trying to make a new home for themselves here in our fantastic communities.”

Serena Collins, strategic lead for the resettlement service at the council, said misinformation could be "used by the minority to heighten ill feelings towards" refugees and asylum seekers.

She said the council was "determined to make sure people are given the facts about resettlement in Cornwall".