‘They are now part of our family’

Today another of the young refugees Care4Calais supports will have a warm bed after a few weeks of rough sleeping.

Despite speaking good English and doing all the right things, A, a refugee from Sudan couldn’t find a place to rent or work in the short time he had between his grant of refugee status and eviction from asylum accommodation.

But volunteers are awesome! Rachel and family are also hosts with Refugees at Home and have agreed to host him, just days after their last guest moved on.

Rachel and her family spoke about their experiences as hosts:

“We have been hosting with Refugees at Home for the past eight months and
have had three guests in our house. The first two stayed for a few weeks and the last for six months,” she said.

“We took some time to decide if hosting was right for us. I had children at uni-
versity and another travelling, we had space and it felt like the right thing to do.

“There was some apprehension – what if we didn’t get on, or it was awkward?
However, whatever my worries were, it must have been so much harder for the refugees we hosted. Imagine facing homelessness, having nowhere to go, no family in the UK, being alone, feeling terrified and anxious and the only option is to stay with a complete stranger, from another culture in their home.

“To date hosting has been an extremely positive experience for all of the family.

We have had three wonderful guests in our home. We have shared food, stories and laughter. They have all been polite, respectful and a pleasure to host.

“Since August all of my adult children have been back home, with some room
changes we have managed to fit everyone in and it has been a success.

“Our last guest was forced to move to Reading as there was no accommodation or hosts in the town where he was living. In six months he found a job, started college (doing English and Maths GCSE’s), made friends in Reading, saved for a deposit and month’s rent in advance.

“He has just moved out and has a room in a shared house. He is delighted to
be independent and we are very happy for him, even if we are a little sad to see him move on!

“Comments from my kids (who are teenagers/young adults) have included:

‘it made the house more interesting’,

‘the food has been great’,

‘they are now part of the family’,

‘he is a life-long friend’,

‘everyone should do this’,

‘I think we have gained more out of this than they have’

and a simple comment of ‘why not ?’

Massive thanks to Rachel and family and to the team at Refugees at Home.

To find put more about hosting a refugee see:
https://refugeesathome.org/