🍽️ 1. Bringing People Together
At the heart of everything we do is one simple but powerful action: we bring people together.
Once a week, members of the sanctuary‑seeking community cook together in our café. We then open our doors to the wider local community to come and eat with us. Around the table, barriers fall. Everyone understands good food, good coffee, good conversation, and the joy of meeting new people.
Food is universal and we use it to bring people together.
We bring people together through:
Weekly community café sessions Communal cooking and shared meals between sanctuary seekers and the local community.
Outside catering events Introducing sanctuary seekers to new audiences and new spaces.
Showcase evenings & cultural events Events such as Key of Palestine, Arabian Nights Supper Club, and cooking classes that expand our reach and invite new people into our work.
Community outreach Speaking in schools, colleges, universities, and community groups about who we are, who we work with, and why people seek sanctuary.
Podcasts, social media, presentations & film Platforms that allow us to share lived experience and offer a different perspective on the immigration narrative.
Community solidarity Local people stand alongside the newest members of our society, actively welcoming refugees and asylum seekers and pushing back against hostility and misinformation.
đź“š 2. ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages)
Language is key to confidence, independence, and belonging. “English is my oxygen.”
We run weekly ESOL classes specialising in:
Pre‑entry (beginner) English
Supporting those unable to access formal provision due to the six‑month rule (New asylum seekers are exempt from formal ESOL for six months, and long waiting lists often extend this further.)
Developing partnerships with:
Warrington and Vale Royal College
Workers' Educational Association
These partnerships will allow us to strengthen and expand our ESOL offer beyond our current single weekly class.
Our ESOL provision includes:
Real‑life work experience in our café and events, enabling learners to practise English with real customers.
English‑speaking volunteers who provide safe, informal opportunities to practise conversation.
A supportive, encouraging learning environment that builds confidence alongside language skills.
🎓 3. Qualifications & Employment Support
“Giving sanctuary seekers the skills to thrive, not just survive.”
We believe people seeking sanctuary should have the opportunity to build meaningful futures.
We provide:
Level 2 Food Hygiene qualifications
Excellence in Customer Service qualifications
Real‑life work experience in internal and external events
Support attending job fairs and accessing regional employment opportunities
Links with local recruiters including A* Recruitment and Bemco Ltd
References for volunteers who complete at least five sessions
We also support entrepreneurship by:
Purchasing products from Latin Products UK (a business founded by a community member)
Collaborating with individuals to develop their own small businesses
Current outcomes:
1 individual has gained employment
2 individuals are being supported to develop their own businesses
🍱 4. Outside Catering (Our Social Enterprise Arm)
Our outside catering work is both a cultural platform and an income‑generating social enterprise.
Through catering, people from across the world showcase their heritage through food and communal cooking.
Outside catering:
Generates income to sustain our work
Increases our visibility in the wider community
Creates opportunities for volunteers to engage with new audiences
Allows local people to meet and connect with sanctuary seekers in real‑world settings
Provides sanctuary seekers with a sense of purpose and contribution
Breaks the isolation and monotony of the asylum waiting process
It offers dignity, pride, and a chance to give something back.
🤝 5. Support for Sanctuary Seekers
“You are not alone.”
For many, we become family. Many of the people we work with experience deep social isolation, trauma, and depression. We provide a place to belong — somewhere to find friendship, familiar languages, understanding, and compassion.
We provide:
A strong support network of peers and allies
Informal emotional support and community connection
Assistance with asylum‑related challenges, including:
Letters of support for interviews
Writing to MPs and the Home Office
Communication with SERCO and Migrant Help
Support finding solicitors
Court accompaniment
Partnership with Open Hands Essentials, providing clothing, bedding, food, bikes, and specialist hair products
Signposting to specialist agencies
Wellbeing activities including: Walks, outdoor activities, rock climbing, day trips, Christmas & Eid celebrations, theatre tickets, art, music, and dance sessions
These activities support mental and physical health and help break the exhausting cycle of waiting within the asylum system.
🏠Homelessness Prevention
When individuals receive Leave to Remain, they often face an immediate risk of homelessness.
We work with:
Airbnb.org
Nugent Care
to prevent newly granted refugees from sleeping on the streets.
Although we are still developing a more stable long‑term housing pathway, we have already successfully housed two refugees who would otherwise have been homeless.
