Help us raise vital funds!

As a small charity, every penny counts.  

Your donation of ...    

• £10 could pay for data for a young person to stay connected with their peers and access educational support.  
  
• £25 could prevent a young person from being homeless by accessing expert and timely casework support.  
• £100 could pay for half-day therapeutic / counselling support for young people dealing with the impact of trauma.  
• £1,000 could pay for educational or recreational trips for many young people. 
• £1,500 could provide monthly facilitated workshop programmes at our weekly Advice & Support Hubs.  
• £2,500 could fund 100 hours of 1:1 intensive casework support. 

"I am delighted to become a patron of Young Roots, the work they do for young refugees and asylum seekers is so vitally important. Over the past year, I have spent more time than ever before at home, a place where I could feel safe and calm. It is utterly heartbreaking to me that some people do not have that basic life requirement. I am so proud to support the incredible work that Young Roots does; helping people apply for refugee status, expert mental health support, preventing homelessness, legal services, creative youth activities and so much more. It is vital that those of us that have had the privilege of somewhere safe to call home and the opportunity to live their most full lives, reach out and help others achieve the same." -  Suzi Ruffell, Comedian and Patron of Young Roots.

Refugee Week is a special time for our Young Roots community to come together to show support and respect to the young people we work with, and for us to raise vital funds and awareness. 

Thank you to everyone who has sent their messages of support to young people over the last weeks. We are looking forward to sharing them with the young people we work with.

2020 was an extraordinary year. It was a year of huge challenges that we could not have predicted. It was also one of collaboration, creativity, and adaptability as we responded to the needs of the young refugees and asylum seekers we work with. The combined effort between our supporters, our staff, our partners and volunteers make this year's Refugee Week theme - 'We Cannot Walk Alone' - particularly apt. 

As we launch our Refugee Week appeal, we are excited to also introduce our new 3-year strategy to support deep changes in the young people we support now and those we will work with in the future.  

We are proud of the trusted relationships we build with young people.  Many access our services and activities several times each week.  Your response to our emergency COVID appeals enabled us to work with 490 young people in 2020, of whom 157 accessed 1:1 casework support, 270 accessed support and youth activities at our Hubs, and 149 accessed English-language mentoring.  Thank you for your vital support.  

Our delivery teams have been delighted to welcome young people back to face-to-face activities, which is key to reducing social isolation and supporting young people's mental health and wellbeing. 

"Without community, it is not easy. Young Roots understands me; they helped me to find close friends and a community. This is so important. Now I feel more relaxed and happy, and more confident for the future."    - Young man we support in Brent 

The young people we work with continue to impress us every day, with their ability to cope with adversity, to laugh, to support each other, and with their skills, and resilience. Nonetheless, the pandemic has exacerbated the considerable challenges they face in their daily lives, such as with legal delays leading to increased stress and anxiety.  

Our new strategy sets out three primary goals:  

1. Continuing to provide high-quality services and activities for young refugees and asylum seekers, ensuring excellence and responsiveness in all we do. 
2. Using our knowledge and experience to advocate for better systems and policies nationally and locally for the young people we work with directly, and for the wider community of young refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. 
3. Responding to increased demand and need for our services and continuing to involve young people and those with lived experience at all levels of the charity.  

Any amount you can donate will help to sustain and build essential services that give hope to and empower the young people we work with.  

Thank you from all at Young Roots.