Volunteers play a vital role in all aspects of our work. Hadi and Neda are casework volunteers with our Refugee Support Service.
Before moving to Glasgow to study, Hadi ran a charity supporting Afghan refugees in Iran, while Neda hoped to use her skills as a career advisor to help people seeking safety find work. Now the pair give their time to support newly granted refugees as they find their feet and begin rebuilding their lives in Scotland. We caught up with them to find out more.
Hadi said: “When I arrived here as a student to study global migration and social justice, I was looking for a place where I could help people with refugee status. One of my classmates introduced me to Scottish Refugee Council and we applied to volunteer. We are both passionate about supporting refugees and migrants.”
Neda added: “In my home country, I had planned to work with refugees to support them to find employment. There are a lot of refugees in Iran and I wanted to help. When I heard that Scottish Refugee Council wanted volunteers, I decided to apply because it aligns with my interests and concerns.”
Helping new refugees find their feet
Hadi and Neda help newly-granted refugees navigate the difficult transition from asylum seeker, with very few choices, to refugee, with a host of new rights and responsibilities.
Hadi explained: “We’re helping people who have just been granted refugee status in four key areas: housing, finance, legal and health. We call people and ask about their situation and focus on the areas where they need our support. We’ll help them apply for Universal Credit, open bank accounts, register with a GP. We make sure people know about their rights and legal entitlements.
“It is important that people apply for Universal Credit as soon as possible after getting refugee status because it will take 35 days. You only have 28 days after you get your letter confirming your status before your asylum payments stop. We can help people apply for crisis grants during this period before Universal Credit starts.
“Housing is another major problem they face. People don’t have a long time to find a new place and have to start paying rent, which is a big change.”
Neda said: “I make move-on calls to clients to explain their rights around finances, health, housing and how they can access support. If someone has problems with homelessness, we help them find shelters. We help them access food banks.
“After a couple of weeks, we make follow-up calls to make sure they are okay and check if they have received Universal Credit, child credit payments or other support they are entitled to.”
Both Neda and Hadi draw on their personal experience of migration to support refugees rebuilding their lives in Scotland.
Hadi said: “We are migrants here. It’s not the same as being a refugee but we do have some common experiences. That helps us to understand their situation and the cycle of problems refugees face. When you understand someone, you can really empathise with them.
“By volunteering here, we are able to help people in those situations and that is the best thing. Having that empathy and common understanding really helps.
“One of the biggest challenges people we help are facing is managing expectations. They come to us thinking that we have all the answers and can solve all their problems.
“When someone gets refugee status, their expectations are high. Often, they have waited a long time to get status and they think everything will be better now, but sometimes, things actually get worse for them. Everything can take a long time and we can’t do everything. It can be very frustrating for them.”
Overcoming challenges
Neda added: “Integration is such an important part of the process for refugees. Being here when you are not from this country can be hard. Integrating and making connections helps people feel more at home.
“As an immigrant everything was so difficult for me when I first arrived in the UK. You’re like a child. You don’t know anything and you have to learn how to do everything. Even to do something simple like go shopping or open a bank account you need to know so many things.
“Language barriers make everything challenging. When you want to speak English, you always have a fear of what will happen if you make a mistake or don’t understand. You can’t express yourself fully and it makes you feel stupid.
“I have a PHD in employability and worked for ten years as a career advisor back home in Iran. But here in the UK, employers don’t recognise my qualifications or experience. I was looking for a job for over a year before I started volunteering. I felt there was nothing I could do here and I was struggling to connect with other people.
“Volunteering with The Refugee Support Service and helping others has helped me find meaning in my life. It has been such a good experience for me. The team have been very welcoming and supportive. I come here one day a week and it changes my mood. I feel I’m doing something beneficial, something positive, something good. I’m not a useless person.”
Hadi added: “Volunteering at Scottish Refugee Council is a unique and really positive experience for me. I’m doing the work that I love and I’m getting familiar with the refugee environment in the UK. It’s really helped me know more about society in Scotland and the problems that exist for refugees and migrants here. It’s also helping me learn more English.
“When I finish my studies, my plan is to continue working to help refugees and migrants. For me, it’s much more than a job. This work comes from the bottom of my heart. I really love it. The things I’m learning as a volunteer will really help me with my future career.”
We’re so grateful to volunteers like Hadi and Neda for giving up their time to make such a vital contribution to our work.
Find out more about our Refugee Support Service and the help we provide for refugees and people seeking asylum in Scotland.
Featured image by Giorgio Trovato – Unsplash
