Volunteering helps integrate asylum seekers into the community in Scotland
Posted on Tue 27 September 2011
Case Study: Volunteer Centre Glasgow, awarded £68,041
AB is a 32 year-old lone parent who lives in Drumchapel with her seven year-old son. She is currently awaiting the outcome of an asylum claim, which prevents her from being entitled to work. She was referred to the Volunteer Centre to assist her integration into the local community, but also to take her mind of enduring health issues which, additionally, were causing her to be stressed, having too much time on her hands.
Through regular contact and support from the Volunteer Centre project worker and other VC staff in the Drumchapel office, AB has been able to feel confident and comfortable in looking into volunteering activities locally.
Due to her lack of confidence in English, which is her second language, AB commenced volunteering at a large charity shop in Partick. This regular volunteering assisted her mental health and gave her additional confidence. At this time, AB enrolled with the Volunteer Centre’s literacy project to help her reading and writing skills. She has now been involved with the literacy project for 6 months. Due to her ongoing health issues, she finds it hard to commit every week to activities, though the literacy project and the volunteering she has undertaken have been appreciative of this factor.
She has recently signed up to volunteer with 3D Drumchapel – a family support charity also funded by the Fair Share Trust programme – assisting them in the crèche work with small children, and has been supported in enrolling in formal English classes at a local college. These are big steps for AB, who had very little self-belief when introduced to the Volunteer Centre a few months ago.
AB really appreciates the new ‘lease of life’ she feels she has, the social aspects of it, and the feeling that she is contributing to society, as she had done back home in South Africa.
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