Many refugees cannot go home because of continued conflict, wars and persecution. Many also live in perilous situations or have specific needs that cannot be addressed in the country where they have sought protection. Resettlement to a third country offers a durable solution.

The UN have identified over 20 million refugees of concern, but less than one percent of people in need are resettled each year.

The lack of safe routes pushes people to take extreme and life-threatening journeys across land and sea to seek sanctuary and a better future, with often devastating consequences.

Refugees who do reach the UK can face a multitude of barriers to inclusion and wellbeing, such as a lack of formal status, access to local services, social connections, language, unemployment, accommodation, poverty, racism, and mental health problems.

This is compounded by a polarised attitude towards refugees in Britain, where a large minority consider refugees and migrants as a “threat”.

The ONS has found that our sense of community is in decline. This can have negative outcomes for our personal and collective wellbeing, leads to less tolerant attitudes, increased loneliness, and a decline in democracy and the power of civil society.

There is a way to bring more refugees safely to the UK and give them the best of welcomes and integration support: the Community Sponsorship Scheme. But not enough people know this opportunity exists, or how to do it.

Unless we provide support and streamline the scheme, the process will remain too difficult and time-consuming for people to take part.

To date, over 500 people have resettled through Community Sponsorship. From 2021, people resettled through this scheme will be additional to government resettlement, so we will be directly increasing the number of refugees welcomed to the UK.

Newcomers arrive with their status assured, a bespoke plan in place to support their integration, and community of people at their back.

An evaluation of Community Sponsorship in the UK concluded that, although resettled families still face significant challenges, “Having the ready source of social capital that is inherent to CS meant that refugees benefitted from individualised help which appeared to go some way in addressing challenges around language learning, navigating complex institutional cultures, building social networks, overcoming isolation and progressing towards self-sufficiency.”

Of course, the greatest evidence comes from the families themselves. See stories of our new neighbours here [link to stories of welcome]

“Now we have plans for our future”, says Lina, who now lives with her husband Fadi and their two children in leafy Sutton.

“It changed my whole life," says Khadija, who now lives in Devon with her family. Her husband is now working as an electrician, and Khadija completed GCSEs while raising 3 children, and is now teaching English to other migrant women.

In a survey of people who participated in Community sponsorship, people reported numerous gains from participation, including:

• A sense of purpose and fulfillment
• Pride and satisfaction
• A new group of friends
• A stronger sense of community

Research by the University of Birmingham has found that Community Sponsorship changes attitudes towards refugees, particularly in less-diverse host communities:

“Refugees were said to be an inspiration within schools, and local communities had become more outward looking as a result of their engagement with CSS. The advent of CSS in less diverse areas offers potential for transformation of understanding of refugee issues, to reduce fears about others, to change working practices to make them more inclusive for wider diverse populations and to bring new perspectives into relatively homogeneous communities”

You can read how refugee sponsorship increases support and reduces opposition to resettlement here.

And, by sharing positive stories of welcome, we are winning the fight to improve public narratives and support for refugees.

A survey of Community Sponsorship participants showed that the scheme has increased their awareness of the challenges faced by people with low levels of English in the UK, and of living on a low income. They also reported increased cultural awareness.