Newcastle upon Tyne
Article 14, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
© 2010 East Area Asylum Seekers Support Group ~ registered charity no. 1101367
December 2000 The work of EAASSG began as a response to the immediate needs of asylum seekers who arrived in the local community as a result of the Home Office dispersal system.
People often arrived with no money and no possessions at all. They needed help settling into a strange culture and dealing with officialdom. There had been no attempt to prepare local residents for the arrival of asylum seekers.
July 2001 The Inaugural General Meeting of East Area Asylum Seekers Support Group was held. It come out of a steering group comprising members of local churches, Local Authority community development workers and representatives of other agencies.
EAASSG’s initial task was to provide clothing and household items for asylum seekers and their families.
A low-
It was a place where asylum seekers could meet socially for tea and coffee, interact with volunteers and local people, and where practical needs were met.
March 2003 A Development Worker, Ken Milor, was appointed. As trust was established clients shared their stories and presented other needs around the process of seeking asylum. EAASSG increasingly referred people to relevant support agencies and offered informal befriending.
May 2003 The work had outgrown the borrowed premises. ‘Common Ground’, rented from the City Council, opened in the Churchwalk shopping area.
January 2004 EAASSG registered with the Charity Commission.
January 2005 Chris Carroll was seconded from the Methodist Church. In July 2006 she was employed as Project Development Manager, funded through the Big Lottery Fund.
January 2007 Common Ground moved to it present, larger premises just over the way from its previous building.
January 2008 Project Worker Moises Raimundo was made redundant.
Financial problems in 2008 meant that, in February 2009, Principal Project Worker Ken Milor was made redundant. Chris Corroll’s funding came to an end in September 2009.
The project now runs with a Co-
And, as best we can, we still provide the same service and the number of clients keeps rising.
