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Campaigning on Poverty as a Migrant and Refugee Community Monday 3 rd December 2012. Our work at RAMFEL. Casework – asylum, immigration, welfare benefits, community care, education, employment (Emergency foodservice, and small grants programme)
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Campaigning on Poverty as a Migrant and Refugee Community Monday 3rd December 2012
Our work at RAMFEL • Casework – asylum, immigration, welfare benefits, community care, education, employment (Emergency foodservice, and small grants programme) • Capacity Building – one to one support for activists and new and emerging groups and training • Campaigning – responding to consultations, being proactive around policy initiatives, lobbying
Poverty Specific Interventions • Barking & Dagenham Action on Poverty • Good/Big Society • Childrens Network • Credit Union • Advice Fora • Equalities Fora • Volunteering Fora – links beyond employment
What do we know? • Each borough has a Child Poverty Strategy (at the moment) • Each borough should have an action plan for the strategy • Some boroughs will incorporate the • socio-economic duty in their Equalities Strategy • Each borough will have a ‘no recourse lead’
What can you do? • Understand and familiarise yourself with the strategy (does it separate MRCs from BME) • Contribute to its review and refresh • Contribute your data (qualitative and quanatative) • Have a policy position on your approach, ethical positions on volunteering, foodbanks, work with faith groups? • Training for others
Examples • Barking and Dagenham – active member of the Good Society and Action on Poverty Group, have got the needs of asylum seekers, migrants and refugees understood as distinct • Redbridge – challenge and review work in Childrens Centres, lead agency for the development of a Credit Union
Benefits • Safeguarding clients • Clearer understanding by local authorities and DWP • Take a broad community view to aid cohesion • Promote proactively • Integrate the discussion about your community
Thank you for listening Rita Chadha, Chief Executive Officer, RAMFEL, Cardinal Heenan Centre 326 High Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1QP 0208 478 4513 rita.chadha@ramfel.org.uk www.ramfel.org.uk http://ramfelspeaksout.blogspot.co.uk/