City charity in demand helping asylum seekers

A CHARITY that supports refugees says it faces continuing demand for its services from desperate asylum seekers in the city.

The Devon and Cornwall Refugee Support Council marked 10 years of work last year and has pledged to keep providing help 'for as long as it is required'.

Chair of trustees Lorna Sewell said: "We are one of those organisations that would rather not be needed, but in Plymouth we still have a number of asylum seekers relying on our support."

On New Year's Day it became a limited company called Devon & Cornwall Refugee Support (DCRS). It will remain a charity and its work will not be affected by the change.

Mrs Sewell, a retired businesswoman and former chair of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, said that when she became involved in the work 10 years ago she was shocked by the asylum system in Britain. "It has not improved," she said. "In fact, instead of the UK remaining the safe haven it had been over the centuries, in many cases people fleeing from countries where they had experienced torture and abuse continued to be frightened and treated inhumanely."

Much of the DCRS's work takes place in Plymouth, where it operates a drop-in centre for asylum seekers to meet case workers.

Mrs Sewell said the city's abundance of low standard private housing was one reason why Plymouth was chosen as a dispersal centre for Devon and Cornwall.

She said: "Asylum seekers have no choice as to where they live. A private housing company with a contract from the government arranges their accommodation."

Mrs Sewell said finding funding for the DCRS's work was becoming "more and more difficult, particularly at this time when all charities are desperate for funds". But she said that the charity's dedicated staff and volunteers would continue their work, and DCRS would continue to look for committed volunteers.