We support refugee families to establish new lives in and around Cambridge. We work closely with local community groups and voluntary organisations, and have been helped with offers of private-rented and housing association properties.
We provide housing for people who have arrived from Afghanistan and Syria through formal government resettlement schemes.
In 2020 we and South Cambridgeshire District Council committed to settling 200 more refugees. In 2021 we said we would provide four council houses each year for the next five years to help reach that target.
As well as finding suitable homes, we support people to settle in Cambridge in their first few years. This includes helping them to access healthcare, education, language lessons and work, supporting them to connect with the local community and live independent lives.
Through the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme, Cambridge residents have offered spare rooms or empty homes to people arriving from Ukraine.
Our role in this scheme is to support refugees to feel welcome and get to know Cambridge. We offer practical support to refugees and their hosts, and conduct accommodation and safeguarding checks and administer financial support.
When the time comes for refugees to move out of their hosts’ accommodation, we can also support them to find suitable accommodation locally. Since March 2022, we have helped more than 500 refugees to settle in Cambridge.
- Find out more about our support for Ukraine.
We also support individuals and families who have sought asylum and achieved refugee status and settled in Cambridge. This can include offering support with housing. We commission the Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum to help these individuals and families to access practical advice and support to settle in Cambridge.
To offer your support, find out how to help refugees who have come to the UK.
Resettled families can apply for community sponsorship, through which community groups can support their resettlement.
With this sponsorship, refugees can stay in the UK for five years. During this time, they will have the right to work, claim relevant benefits, access the NHS and attend school. After five years the resettled family can apply to extend their stay.
Fostering
One of the priority groups is likely to be unaccompanied children and young people. The county council will consider providing fostering arrangements and encourages anyone interested in offering support in this way to find out more information.
- Fostering and adoption [Cambridgeshire County Council]
- Freephone 0800 052 0078
Local support groups
The Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum (CECF) is providing advice and practical help to asylum seekers and refugees in Cambridge. CECF is an umbrella organisation for Cambridge and district that also provides racial equality services to individuals and groups.
The Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign (CRRC) is recruiting volunteers and linking up community initiatives to assist refugees in the Cambridge area. CRRC also provides support and guidance to landlords renting their properties to refugees. For general enquiries contact CRRC at info@cambridgerefugees.org.
The Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group (CamCRAG) is helping refugees in Northern France and elsewhere. They are looking for donations of cash and specific foods, as well as volunteers.
Charities
Charities that support refugees abroad seek donations to support their work. These include:
