How We Help

‘WRC is a friendly, understanding and respectful organisation, I feel at home there and I feel comfortable talking to them’

The Welsh Refugee Council is the national refugee charity for Wales.  It was set up in Cardiff in 1990, with the support of refugees, politicians, voluntary organisations and the Home Office, to provide support for asylum seekers and refugees in Wales. It was registered as a charity in May 1994.

In February 2001, when the Home Office began to disperse asylum seekers to Wales, Welsh Refugee Council quickly expanded. It moved from providing advice and support services in Cardiff only to also running services in Swansea, Wrexham and Newport. Welsh Refugee Council is run by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers. Click here to find out more about job vacancies and volunteering.

Mission

The Welsh Refugee Council empowers refugees and asylum seekers to rebuild their lives in Wales.

Values

• Remain independent and accountable.
• Treat everyone with equality, respect and empathy.
• Ensure that the voices of refugees and asylum seekers are heard throughout our organisation.
• Work in partnerships which are beneficial to refugees and asylum seekers.
• Promote the rich diversity that refugees and asylum seekers bring to the UK, and uphold their rights.
• Continually strive to improve and always act with honesty, transparency and integrity.

Strategic goals 2009-2014

1. To provide leadership to the refugee sector in Wales
2. To achieve excellence in the standard of its advice and support services
3. To promote opportunities for refugees to fulfil their potential in all parts of Wales
4. To promote positive responses to asylum seekers and refugees among political leaders, service providers and the general public throughout all parts of Wales
5. To communicate the Welsh response to asylum seekers and refugees to an audience outside Wales

Leading the Refugee Sector in Wales

Welsh Refugee Council works in partnership with a range of smaller refugee agencies in order to meet the needs of asylum seekers and refugees, including Asylum Justice, Displaced People in Action (DPIA), SOVA, Newport & District Refugee Support Group (NDRSG), Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers Support Group (SBASSG), Refugee Asylum Welcome (RAW) and Oasis in Cardiff and Wrexham Refugee & Asylum Seekers Support Group (WRASSG).

Welsh Refugee Council also provides advice, training and office space for community organisations. At present there are 36 refugee community organisations in Wales and almost all of them run on small donations and the dedication of volunteers.

Independent, confidential, specialist advice and support services

Welsh Refugee Council sees about 900 asylum seekers and refugees a week in five different offices. for more information about these services, please see our Advice page.

Promoting opportunities to fulfil potential

Being granted asylum is just the first step. Welsh Refugee Council works to empower those granted asylum to rebuild their lives in Wales. To find out more go to our Advice page.

Promoting positive responses

• Welsh Refugee Council runs large-scale, high-quality, innovative arts events which tell a refugee story, in partnership with artistic, cultural and educational organisations, in order to increase public support for asylum.
• Welsh Refugee Council co-ordinates the work of different organisations to produce Refugee Week Wales. This is an annual week of diverse events including art, culture, sport, food and fun. Refugee Week Wales promotes understanding about why people flee persecution.
• Welsh Refugee Council works with Welsh politicians (AM’s and others) and with the officers of the Welsh Assembly Government and the Home Office to ensure that developing positive policies for asylum seekers and refugees in Wales is prioritised.
• Welsh Refugee Council publishes position papers, briefings, consultation responses, reports and documents that aim to improve policies affecting refugees and asylum seekers across Wales.
• Welsh Refugee Council provides regular email updates for its network of supporters.

Partners and Funders

Welsh Refugee Council is a member of the Asylum Support Partnership – the ‘big 5’ U.K. refugee agencies which are all contracted to provide advice services by the Home Office¹. It is a member of the following Strategic Partnerships: National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF), Refugee Children’s Consortium and Wales Strategic Migration Partnership (WSMP).

Welsh Refugee Council receives most of its funding from the Home Office and the Welsh Assembly Government. Welsh Refugee Council is also grateful for the funding it receives from a number of charitable grant giving trusts and from the many generous members of the public who support our work. See our impact reports for further details of funding received each year. For more information on making a donation, visit our donate page.

Impact reports

To find out more about our work, read our annual impact reports.