Isolation and loneliness are common challenges for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. Many do not speak English as a first language and they are increasingly being accommodated in hotels, isolated from the community and with few opportunities to meet new people. Loneliness leads to poor mental health and in our most recent mental health survey, 59.2% of clients had poorer mental health than the UK average, and 24.5% scored below the NHS recommended cut off for low mental well-being.

RSG will address this issue by running a befriending and English conversation project which will pair up volunteers with refugees/asylum seekers for weekly, one-to-one sessions where they can have a friendly, relaxed chat and practice English. Pairs will be matched based on their availability and interests, then between them they decide when to meet, and what they want to cover in sessions. The coordinator will offer support and guidance to befrienders and befriendees throughout the project.