The Lewisham residents who open their home to refugees
Across Lewisham, people are offering their spare rooms to host refugees through UK charity Refugees at Home, which matches people seeking sanctuary with those willing to open their homes and help them rebuild their lives.
For New Cross resident Tomilyn Rupert, the idea of using the spare room in their flat to host refugees had occurred to her and her husband before, after reading stories of others who had done the same.
But it wasn’t until reading about protests outside hotels where asylum seekers were being held, that they decided to contact Refugees at Home and take action.
“As an immigrant myself, it felt really important to let people know they were welcome here. And we’re lucky to live in a neighbourhood with such a welcoming attitude, so we knew we were in a good location to host.”
Lewisham is a Borough of Sanctuary and has featured events like Little Amal who came to Deptford as part of her global journey. In New Cross, Tomilyn and her husband live near two libraries, both of which have been utilised by their guests so they can look for jobs and permanent lodging on computers.
“One of my hesitations with hosting was the amount of time,” said Tomilyn. “I have a lot of family from far away who come to stay. It was really reassuring that Refugees at Home lets us set the amount of time we’re comfortable having a guest and share about any dates we definitely can’t take guests. They want it to be sustainable for us, which was a relief.
"We are only able to offer to host for up to a month at a time and were worried this wouldn’t be enough to be useful, but there’s a wide variety of placement lengths.”
Her husband Jack also wanted to understand what type of support different guests might need, as they both work full time. He was able to chat with another current host in Lewisham, which put him at ease, and helped provide the couple with guidelines about how to best make hosting work for them.
This included writing down house rules, and always starting a WhatsApp group with the guest and both of them before the guest arrived, so it was easy to answer any questions.
Ethiopian injera and shiro and a movie night. Images: Tomilyn Rupert
Tomilyn and Jack have enjoyed getting to know their guests. Board games like Ecologies or Ticket to Ride proved a big hit. Their first guest was Ethiopian and picked up injera and the ingredients for shiro which they made together.
The welcoming effect hosts provide can be long lasting. A few weeks after Tomilyn’s first guest left, he sent them a lovely message saying: “Your actions have shaped my mind, and now I’ve got a new dream in my life: to be there for someone who needs support or help. Hopefully I will able to one day."
Tomilyn said “To anyone thinking of hosting, I would say: do it. We are so glad we did.”
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About Refugees at Home
Refugees at Home is the UK’s largest independent hosting charity, matching refugees and people seeking asylum with people willing to open their home and help them rebuild their lives.
This year, we're celebrating our 10th anniversary and, in that time, we've placed over 7,500 guests with hosts across the UK, totalling more than 770,000 nights spent in a warm, safe home.
Those needing support are often newly recognised refugees. When someone receives a positive decision on their asylum claim, they are given just 28 days to leave Home Office accommodation and find somewhere to live.
At what should be a happy time, with huge relief after the difficult asylum process, many find themselves facing homelessness and destitution.
This is when our hosts step in, giving the guest some breathing space whilst they rebuild their lives.
Hosting is only ever temporary, and Refugees at Home can provide support with a guest’s move-on from hosting to independent accommodation. Guests typically stay for one to three months, but in some cases, it can be as short as few nights.
Hosts decide how long they are able to host for and let the charity know any requirements they have, such as keeping alcohol or meat out of their home.
Lewisham is the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, and it’s no surprise that there are plenty of people in the area actively welcoming those coming from abroad.
Refugees at Home work closely with local organisations such as Action for Refugees in Lewisham (AFRIL), who refer service users to the charity for hosting support and help them move on to more permanent accommodation.
Refugees at Home are always looking for more hosts. If you’re interested in hosting, or want to find out more, visit refugeesathome.org
