Community Sponsorship
Community sponsorship is a way for communities to be directly involved in helping refugees settle in the UK, providing emotional and practical support to empower families to rebuild their lives and to become self-sufficient members of their new community. Being a sponsor can bring enormous benefit to the local community, through harnessing the generosity of local people, and creating new bonds between different groups to bring positive changes to people’s lives.
Since 2016, communities across Devon have locally welcomed 22 refugee families through community sponsorship.
An important part of the community sponsorship process is gaining the consent of your local authority.
Applications for community sponsorship are agreed by the home office.
Communities for Afghans
Communities for Afghans (CfA) is a UK Government programme that supports Afghan families to rebuild their lives in the UK. Local volunteer groups, supported by community organisations, councils and government, help families find a home, access services, learn English and become part of their local community. The programme is based on the successful Community Sponsorship model and aims to provide long-term, community-led support for families as they settle in the UK.
The Afghan Welcome Project, led by the Pickwell Foundation and partner organisations, delivers the Communities for Afghans programme nationally by recruiting, training and supporting local volunteer groups across the UK.