About Us

ASSIST Rotherham came into existence in mid 2005.

It was formed by volunteers who through first hand experience became aware of a lack of basic support for asylum seekers who had received “negative decisions” from the Home Office. For the failed asylum seekers there was little or no ongoing support of any kind being offered by most other organizations.

We are a small community based organization, although a non religious body we are based in Eastwood Mission Church but are independent from the Asylum drop-in that operates there. We rely totally on donations from members of the public and our thanks to the Eastwood Mission Church Council who has provided us with much needed support by means of free copier facilities and the provision us of a telephone.

ASSIST Rotherham began as a means of short term support by way of a small grant to the most needy destitute and vulnerable; we felt this should be aimed at the ill, disabled aged and infirm. As we are limited to the amount of people we can help financially we found we could help others by offering information and signposting people onto relevant organizations for advice or just putting people in contact with others from their own communities or just offering a listening ear.

Within the first few months of our existence it became clear that the information service was of just as great a value as the small amount of financial help we offered. This became apparent by our growing number of attendees and the now familiar faces of our regular users.

We must stress that ASSIST Rotherham does not give advice on asylum or immigration matters.

We at ASSIST Rotherham direct its users to other organizations who can advise in these matters, organizations such as the Northern Refugee Centre, the Refugee Council and referrals to solicitors. We help our clients by drafting letters, making telephone calls, booking appointments, dealing with problems with housing providers and generally any other types of enquiries on their behalf. This can be a great help, especially when language is a barrier and knowledge of the British way of life becomes a problem.

Finally, ASSIST Rotherham can only partially function without those members of the public who believe that everyone has a right to live their lives free from fear and persecution in the best way we can offer.

If you would like to help please feel free to contact us via our website or ring us on........

We are always looking for volunteers to help. Our only requirement is that you can offer us a minimum of two hours a week.

We are at Eastwood Mission Church on Tuesdays, between 1.00 and 4.00pm
All donations are gratefully received.