Help Refugees runs the biggest aid operation in northern France alongside our partners L’Auberge des Migrants, Refugee Youth Service, Refugee Community Kitchen, Utopia56 and Refugee Info Bus. Since summer 2015, thousands of volunteers have come and gone to help us do the work of a big NGO but with a fraction of the budget.

Despite the eviction of the Calais ‘Jungle’ in October 2016 and the Dunkirk burning down in April 2017, there are still around 1,500 refugees sleeping rough in the forests in northern France. The youngest unaccompanied minor in Calais is currently just nine years old. We are providing blankets, clothes and food, and we need lots of enthusiastic volunteers to help in our warehouse.

Our teams still distribute thousands of items every week, from 1000 blankets and sleeping bags, to hundreds of hygiene kits, clothing and countless shoes. While it is impossible for people to settle, and refugees are facing increasing aggression from the police, our services continue to be a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable people in Europe.