Action for Refugees in Lewisham

Who we are

AFRIL is a small, dynamic charity that supports asylum seekers, refugees, and vulnerable migrants in South East London to lift themselves out of poverty, assert their rights, and rebuild their lives in the heart of our community. We provide both crisis support to meet immediate need, and longer-term, flexible programmes to tackle the underlying issues that result in poverty. We empower people with the tools and support they need to improve their lives, prioritising the most vulnerable and those with complex needs who may otherwise struggle to access mainstream services.

Our Services:

• Casework and Advocacy – accredited advice, casework and legal interventions in housing and homelessness, complex welfare rights, community care, asylum support, immigration and related matters. 

• Destitution Project - supporting families to overcome extreme food poverty through regular food vouchers, fresh culturally appropriate food, toiletries, and essential household items plus small grants and a free café.

• Rainbow Club Saturday School - improving educational attainment, confidence and self-esteem of displaced children age 4-11 years, through weekly additonal education, art, sports and school trips.

• Allotment of Refuge - a welcoming and integrated community of food growers improving the health, wellbeing and healthy food access of children and adults seeking sanctuary.

• Immigration Project in partnership with Southwark Law Centre - free legal advice and representation to support families to regularise their UK immigration status in the UK.

In addition, we hold a monthly Members Forum, and use the evidence from our frontline work together with the testimony of our members to influence improved policy and practice. 

Our culture and values

Our work is grounded in the values of professionalism, inclusivity, and solidarity, and our approach to service delivery is one of co-production and empowerment. We work with partners locally and nationally to deliver high quality services and advocacy. The wellbeing of our staff and volunteers is very important to us and we provide regular clinical supervision, a supportive working culture, and invest in training and developement. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

AFRIL is an equal opportunities employer. We are a diverse staff team and particularly encourage applications from BAME candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and those with lived experience of asylum/irregular migration. We welcome applications from candidates of all ages and are committed to supporting qualified people to re-enter the workplace after periods of unemployment for example because of homemaking, redundancy, mental health or previous immigration restrictions. Our office is on the first floor of a community centre. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to support our staff to flourish. We are a proud member of the  Experts by Experience Employment Network.