lrmn newsletter feb. 2013

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Issue February 2013 Lewisham Refugee and

Migrant Network

Acve Voice

LRMN CLIENTS END OF

YEAR PARTY

On the 19th of December 2012, the

Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Net-

work held an end of year party in-

ving all its clients. Brockley Commu-

nity Church provided an amazing and

freshly prepared buet and LEWCAS

showered our children with beauful-

ly wrapped presents. Some of our cli-

ents even received Christmas hamper

from Kings Church Centre.

Listening to tradional Christmas

songs and other world music, everyone

joined in celebrang the end of the

year in a posive spirit, whilst enjoying

the delicious, freshly cooked food

The children were entertained by Yaz

and Becca who kindly oered their

face painng skills free of charge, turn-

ing the lile ones into clowns, lions and

owers upon request.

A big Thank You goes out to everyone

who helped make this event a pleasant

and successful evening!


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.

Digital/Social Media Training

Programme

The Digital/Social Media trainingprogramme has started in January

2013. Weekly sessions are held at

LRMN to support organisaons to

build their websites in order to

showcase what they do and bene-

t from online technology. The

programme also includes 8 work-

shops, once a month, starng

from February, specically on So-

cial Media (Facebook, Linkedin,

Twier, online videos, mobile

etc.) with the aim of helping or-

ganisaons to engage with their

community, colleagues, donors.

We are fully booked for the cur-

rent Digital/Training Programme

but please feel free to contact us

if you are interested in aending

the training next year. We will

start recruing the parcipang

organisaons later in 2013.

For more informaon, please

contact Crisna on 020 8694 0323

or via email at:

[email protected]

New People:

We have volunteers and students

on placement who joined us re-

cently performing various tasks.

They are:

Andrew Hanson , Jeanee Wal-

co, Sinotu Lawal, DanielleDMello, Luisa Hoque, Katya Boyer

and Iqvinder Malhi.

A Big Welcome to all of you!!

Refugee Week Celebraon

June 2013

We are now in the process of pre-

paring for the Refugee Week cele-

braon in partnership with the

Horniman Museum. If you are in-

terested to join and be part of the

planning team,please contact

Terry on 020 8694 0323.

Big Loery Transion Fund

The Lewisham Advice ProvidersConsorum (LAPC) where LRMN is

a member has put forward an ap-

plicaon for the Big Loery Transi-

on Fund. Lets cross our ngers!!

Our website being re-

vamped!!

With the help of Richard, our ex-

perienced IT volunteer, we hope

to have a more sleek , modern and

easy to navigate website very

soon.

We are sll looking for a

house!!

LRMN is sll at Parker House and is

urgently looking for oce spaces.Please contact Rosario if you could

help.

LRMN Trustees Wanted!

We are looking for trustees with

the following skills: Finance, Fund-

raising, Advice and Legal, Social

Enterprise and Human Resource.

If you have one of these skills,

please contact Rosario.

Save Lewisham Hospital

Lots of our clients will be aect-

ed by the closure of the mater-

nity and the full A&E at Lewi-

sham Hospital. Our clients are

part of the 750,000 Lewisham

residents who will have to go to

Woolwich, Kings or St Thomas

to receive treatment. And as we

already know, these hospitals

simply do not have the capacity

to accommodate Lewisham pa-

ents.

The Save Lewisham Hospital

campaign is not over, give your

support, there are many ways

you can help hp://

www.savelewishamhospital.co

m/get-involved/

Want to know more about

Refugees ?

If you want to nd out more

about the life and the plight of

Refugees in the UK and around

the world there are many ar-

cles and reports available on the

internet. Both the Guardian and

The Independent news papers

have a secon on Refugees

You can access them at:

hp://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/

immigraon

hp://www.independent.co.uk/

topic/Refugees

Further you will nd a lot of in-

teresng informaon on the UK

homepage of the UNHCR, which

you can access at:

hp://www.unhcr.org.uk/

LRMN News & Informaon


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BENEFIT CUTS

It is now well documented that a

number of welfare benet cuts

have been imposed following theGovernment comprehensive

spending review. Nowhere are

the eects felt more than in peo-

ple who are ill or disabled. Rich-

ard Hawkes, chief execuve of

the disability charity Scope, said:

"The government has not deliv-

ered on its promise to support

disabled people into work, pe-

nalising those on ESA and

jobseekers' allowance who have

worked and paid naonal insur-

ance in the past and who now

cannot rely on geng the sup-

port they need when they need

it, in an increasingly dicult em-

ployment market. Disabled peo-

ple and their families do not

have 'broad shoulders', so why

are they bearing the brunt of

these cuts?"

As any adviser dealing with cli-

ents on Employment and Sup-

port Allowance (ESA) will be able

to tell you, the situaon is reach-

ing crisis point. Advisers are now

spending vast amounts of their

me aending appeal tribunals

for ESA.

ESA replaced Incapacity Benet

and is for people who have a lim-

ited capability for work due to an

illness or disability. It can be ei-

ther contributory or income-

related, and claimants either get

the work-related acvity compo-

nent or the support component.

Claimants on the work related ac-

vity component are subject to

regular medical and work capabil-ity assessments, where they are

assessed on a number of funcons

relang to mobility and cognive

funconing.

The descriptors are very limited

and dont cover issues like inca-

pacity due to severe mental

health problems.

Many of our clients have been

aected and have had their ESA

stopped aer aending an assess-

ment. We are appealing on their

behalf and have several rst-er

tribunals coming up, and predict

more and more as the benet cuts

really take hold. So far we have

been successful on behalf of our

clients. We eecvely challenged

the decision in the case of N, a

young Ethiopian woman with se-

vere learning dicules who can-

not even write her own address,

and yet she was assessed as t for

work. The DWP accepted our sub-

mission and made a decision inMiss Ns favour without going to

tribunal.

We have just had a successful out-

come at the tribunal regarding the

case of Mr H, a Sri Lankan client

with a severe heart condion,

hearing impairment and mentalhealth diculty who was deemed

t to work.

These clients are lucky in that

they have someone advocang

for them.

How many more are there who

have no one to speak up for

them? What will happen to those

people?

The needs of clients who have

had their benet stopped far out-

weighs the resources of organisa-

ons dealing with the problemand its only going to get worse

when the Universal Credit comes

into eect.

Margot Lawrence

Welfare Benet and Health Adviser

Please support LRMN!

LRMN fulls a very important

job in tough economic mes and

budget cuts.

If you are able to make a dona-

on this would be greatly appre-

ciated . You can do so by either

contacng us via phone and/orvising our website.

LRMN News & Informaon


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ADVISORY SERVICE

-Immigraon

-Social Care

-Welfare Benets

-Housing

We are registered with the Oce of the

Immigraon Services Commission to pro-vide advice up to Level 3.

We are able to:

- conduct casework

- prepare cases in the

Immigraon and Asylum Chambers (IAC)

including draing full grounds of appeal.

- represent clients at the IAC

- instruct a barrister or advocate to ap-

pear at the IAC where permied by BARCouncil.

Our advisors give advice at one-to-one

consultaons. If we are unable to help

clients, we signpost them to specialist

services.

For an appointment contact -

0208 694 0323

HEALTH ACCESS PROJECT

For informaon and advice about access-

ing NHS treatment or relevant healthservices, and help with health-related

benets. Appointments on Mondays and

Thursdays. Contact Shepherd on

020 8694 0323

Parker House, 1st Floor

144 Evelyn Street

LONDON, SE8 5DD

Mon-Fri 9:30 am - 5:30 pm

Phone: 0208 694 0323

Fax: 0208 694 6621

www.lrmn.org.uk

www.facebook.com/LRMNetwork

ALL SERVICES ARE FREE

WOMENS SUPPORT SERVICES

We oer one-to-one counselling service

for refugee and asylum seeking women

who are suering eects of gender-based

violence and other traumas.

Appointments on Mondays, Wednesdays

and Thursdays. For an appointment con-tact:

Emma Brech - 0208 694 0323 ext 231

Time To Talk - Lewisham

Refuge Network Nurture/Health Group

for Women

Providing support and educaon around

health and self-esteem. Includes a hot

lunch.

Every Wednesday 10am-

12pm.

Sewing Club

Every Thursday 10am-12pm

Kning Club

Every Thursday 10am-12pm.

Contact Margot.

FREE CRECHE AVAILABLE

Established in 1991 Lewisham Refugee

and Migrant Network (LRMN) is a

longstanding provider of informaon

and advice on immigraon, welfare

benets, housing, homelessness, debt,

health and educaon to asylum seek-

ers, refugees and migrants in South

East London.

LRMN also provides counselling and

therapeuc support to women survivor

of domesc and gender based violence

and helps clients access medical ser-

vices.

ENGLISH AS SECOND

LANGUAGE CLASS

(ESOL for Beginners) Classes take place

every Monday, Thursday and Fridayfrom 1.003.00pm and Tuesday from

10.0012.00pm.

IT/COMPUTER CLASSES

Basic training in using a computer.

Learn how to operate a keyboard and

mouse, get online and set up an email

account.

Tuesday from 10.002.00pm

GARDENING PROJECT for Refugees,

Asylum Seekers and Migrants

Soon to start in New Cross and Lee. If

you are interested please contact

Rosario on 020 8694 0323.

lrmn newsletter feb. 2013

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