ICN provide accommodation and support to between 12-16 UASC young people at a time, aged 16-24. We are currently supporting and have supported young people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, (including Kurdish young people from these 3 countries), Afghanistan, Sudan, Albania, Eritrea, Yemen, Egypt, China, and Vietnam. Our team’s purpose is to empower UASC young people to become positively integrated, independent and thrive in UK society.
We are contracted by local councils to help UASC young people under our support in several ways by;
- Providing a variety of safe accommodations, including semi-independent placements, supported lodgings providers and a new arrivals house where we have an ICN Residential Support Worker living in the house and up to 4 young people living there at a time. If you would like to find out more about becoming a supported lodgings provider, click here; Provide accommodation for young people seeking asylum – ICN
- Being contactable 24/7.
- Registering and accompanying young people to all required appointments, including GP, dentist, opticians, mental health/counselling, solicitor and Home Office asylum interviews.
- Supporting with independence skills, such as cooking, cleaning, self-care, and finance.
- Helping to access education.
- Promoting integration by helping young people access suitable clubs and groups. For example: Sports clubs, theatre, music etc.
In all of this we are walking alongside the young person while they are waiting for the Home Office decision to their asylum claim, which can take several years.
During holiday times we organise different activities for all UASC young people in the local area, not just those under our support. This can include residential stays, days out to different local towns, attractions and places of nature as well as educational sessions such as cooking, therapeutic art and music, sexual health, police talks about safety, drug awareness, mental wellbeing amongst many others. For the educational sessions we partner with local charities and organisations such as the KORU project, Nordoff Robbins and the Friendly Food Club.
For more information
Please contact Mel Kerour on 07309 723140 or email her at m.kerour@icn.org.uk.
