This is a live post: we will be updating this post with resources, helpful links and relevant advice to help Ukrainian and other Eastern European nationals affected by the war in Ukraine.
Resources, links and relevant advice
We are seeking volunteers to support our domestic violence victims
East European Resource Centre is looking for volunteers to support our work with domestic abuse victims.
We run a busy and vital service for Eastern European women, and we would need volunteers to help with research, organising support groups and translation.
In return we offer training with our family law solicitor and our experienced Independent Domestic Abuse Advocates.
The position would be flexible and for 8-10 hours/week, a mix of occasional office work and online work.
If you want to get involved in our amazing service and give a hand in helping our community, please email us at volunteering@eerc.org.uk with the subject line “DV Volunteer”.
Please note that we run a women only service, so we require our volunteers to be women or women identifying and to speak Romanian or Polish.
We are seeking volunteers with focus on events!
Events Organising Volunteer Wanted (Polish)
We are looking for creative and sociable volunteers to join our little East European Resource Centre volunteer team! You will be helping our Communities Support Manager with the set up and admin of events for our service users.
EERC is a registered charity, offering support, advice and advocacy to vulnerable Easter European migrants. Our service users are people from all walks of life, however it may become necessary to be able to communicate to them in their native language. For this role we are seeking a Polish speaker.
We are looking for:
+ A good communicator
+ Caring about your community
+ Interested in making a difference
+ Looking to expand your volunteering experience
+ Looking to build your experience at hosting, administration and management of events
If you are interested in the role, or would like to find out more, please write to volunteering@eerc.org.uk with the subject line “Events volunteer”.
EERC Works on the Mayor of London’s Campaign Promoting Worker’s Rights
Covid-19 has greatly affected the way people work, their rights and future prospects of living a decent life in the capital. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have seen a huge rise in enquiries from people being laid off unfairly, falling through the cracks of government support schemes, exploited and being paid less than minimum wage, being bullied at work – and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
It is now more important than ever that all workers have access to information and know their rights.
East European Resource Centre has partnered with the Greater London Authority and the Mayor’s Office to develop a series of videos on the Furlough Scheme and Self Employment Support Scheme and translate videos on exploitation at work, maternity pay and more.
All these videos are available on the GLA’s Employment Rights Hub, where you can also find videos covering other relevant employment rights issues and information about employment and immigration advice services available in London.
Material last reviewed: 04/09/2020
What’s happening to the Furlough Scheme?
You can find the Polish and Romanian versions on this video on Youtube.
I’m self-employed and financially affected by COVID-19. What can I do?
You can find the Polish and Romanian versions on this video on Youtube.
EERC has also translated:
I’m pregnant – will I still get maternity pay during the pandemic? Watch in: Polish.
I’m worried about my pay and conditions at work. Watch in: Polish and Romanian.
I’m being asked to work but I’m supposed to be on furlough . Watch in: Polish and Romanian.
My employer isn’t following Government guidance on workplace safety. Watch in: Polish and Romanian.
I’ve been dismissed after raising concerns with my employer. What can I do? Watch in: Polish and Romanian.
We would like to thank the GLA and the Mayor of London for the having the initiative for this important campaign and for partnering with us and the other great charities to develop it.
EERC note: Some material in these videos may be outdated, with deadline dates changed. Please know that we are doing all in our power to update this information as often as possible. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
EERC Covid19 Emergency Appeal
We are raising money for an emergency fund to help vulnerable members of our community who are at extreme risk of destitution, and cannot afford food or other essential items at the moment.
All of us have been hit hard by this pandemic. It is not a surprise that in these times, our biggest concern is our health and the health of our loved ones. At EERC we’re helping the most vulnerable and most affected members of our Eastern European communities.
The vulnerable members of our East European migrant community have to confront themselves as well with financial troubles, having been laid off, or struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table. These are people who are dealing with isolation, and additional obstacles to find alternative work.
Many of the people we support don’t qualify for any of the government’s schemes and are already falling through the cracks: homeless people, single mothers who’ve had to stop working to take care of their children, workers who have been laid off, or whose employer won’t apply for the government scheme, very destitute people who live in overcrowded accommodation where it is impossible to self-isolate, or older people who are struggling with isolation, their mental health, panic, and anxiety.
Our charity is here to help. Since this crisis began we’ve already helped over 400 people with job and benefits applications, advice and information. However, some really vulnerable people simply need direct help with money to pay for food.
We want to raise money for an emergency fund to help those in really desperate situations, who cannot afford food or other essential items at the moment.
We’ve been doing our best, but now we need your support too, and the support of wider Eastern European communities.
Please give what you can today, every contribution counts. All of the money donated through this campaign will go straight to the destitute people who need it most.
Now is the time to donate, come together, and offer a vital lifeline for people who need it most!
Last update: 01/01/2021
Eastern European EUSS Centre Is Open
Eastern European Resource Centre is one of the 57 organisations in the UK who have been awarded funding from Home Office to support vulnerable EU citizens apply for settled status.
The Minister of State for Immigration, Caroline Nokes, officially opened our EUSS centre. The minister met with our advisers and our clients and talked about their concerns and hopes people have about their future in the country, post Brexit.
The Centre, joinly created with POSK, is the largest project meant to support Central and Eastern European citizens living in the UK through the Brexit process and the settled status application.
The support is free for disadvantaged and vulnerable migrants.
The centre is located on the ground floor in Polish Social and Cultural Centre (POSK) and is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30 to 18:30 with a break between 13:30 and 14.00. There is no need to book a visit in advance, the centre operates on the drop in basis.
East European Resource Centre has registered and qualifyed immigration advisers, speaking Polish and Romanian. To get in touch, please email euss@eerc.org.uk .
We Met with PM Teresa May
Last week we met Prime Minister Theresa May to give our views on issues and opportunities of Brexit for the Polish diaspora and the whole Eastern European community.
We talked about the need to support integration of the most disadvantaged members of our community so that we would be seen and treated as equal members of the British society.
Moreover, we discussed the need of support for our community organisations to raise awareness of the new settled status so our most disadvantaged members don’t fall through the cracks and find themselves unregulated immigrants after Brexit.
It has been a very productive meeting, with the Prime Minister acknowledging our position as valued members of the British society and recognising the need to help our fellow expatriates to find a way in the new immigration regime.
Volunteer Opportunity: We are looking for new volunteers
Are you passionate about workers rights? Do you want to help disadvantaged Eastern Europeans and improve their working conditions?
We are looking for Romanian, Lithuanian and Polish volunteers to help us with a new project.
In January this year we have started a new project, “Organising Migrant Workers”. The focus of this project is to organise Eastern European agency workers from the hotel and general cleaning industries, in order to improve their working conditions.
Moreover, we want to work with agencies to develop and share good practice.
Our extensive work in safeguarding workers rights has proven that there is a large group of Eastern European workers who do not know their rights and where to seek information and advice in case of any problems related to employment. They work long hours (often 6-7 days per week) so they are not able to seek any support in person.
Agency workers in the cleaning industry are especially affected by exploitation and bad working conditions.
This volunteering position is flexible and can be done outside working hours. You would help us with:
+ Outreaching to agency workers
+ Organising events and workshops
+ Research
+ Translating presentations and other materials
We are a small charity, but with a big soul and we couldn’t do it without our amazing volunteers. We provide training and group or individual support. You would work very closely with our staff members who are in charge of this project and you will have the opportunities to participate in different activities and trainings.
If you are interested, please contact volunteering@eerc.org.uk for more information.
Special Camden Council Meeting on Brexit
We were invited to Special Camden Council Meeting on Brexit on the 23rd October 2017. It was an opportunity for us to raise issues that EU communities are facing in this uncertain time. We talked about lack of awareness among EU nationals about their rights and about sources of reliable support when things go wrong. We mentioned that lack of information about future status of EU citizens in the UK makes it even more difficult for them to understand their options. This confusing situation also opens door for labour exploitation.
Moreover, due to rise in number of hate crimes, many EU nationals do not feel welcome in the UK. Increased questioning by some employers and landlords who want to know if the candidates are already permanent residents amplifies this notion even though it should not be taking place.
We also talked about the pressure this situation puts on third sector support and advice services. Demand for our migration advice increased by 734% after the Brexit vote. We expect similar increase when EU nationals will start applying for a settled status. Considering the fact that the government says that e.g. job-seekers may not be eligible, it may not be as straightforward process at it is being painted now.
We asked Camden council to work with the third sector to support EU nationals living and working in that borough e.g. by organising information events and providing reliable information on its website. We also suggested that Camden council should use this opportunity to promote civil engagement and political involvement among EU citizens living in the borough. Many councillors declared their support for our ideas.
Webcast from the meeting https://camden.public-i.tv/core/portal/home
Good news: Free English Classes at East European Resource Centre
Good news everyone! After spending a few months finding the perfect English teacher (we did, two of them), we are now finally able to provide free English classes for Eastern Europeans, in our offices.
We know that the most important step towards integration and leading a fulfilled life as full members of the community, is for people to speak English. We are very happy to announce that our free classes, funded by the Big Lottery Fund will start in October.
There will be several classes per week, as follows:
Intensive day-time classes (2 x 2h per week, 4.5 weeks)
- Beginners – Mondays and Thursdays between 10.15 am and 12.15 pm; first group starts 9 October, second group starts in November
- English for job seekers: pre-intermediate level – Mondays and Thursdays between 12.45 pm and 2.45 pm; first group starts 9 October, second group starts in November
Evening classes (2h per week for 10 weeks)
- Beginners – Mondays 6pm to 8pm, start on 9 October
- English for job seekers: pre-intermediate level – Wednesday between 6 pm and 8 pm, start on the 10 October
All interested learners have to attend an entry test day. This is just to asses people’s levels of English. The tests for groups starting 9 October will be held on 4 October, between 3 pm and 6pm. We will ask learners to fill in a short grammar test and have a short conversation with tutors to assess both grammatical and oral fluency.
Anyone interested in learning more please call the office on 020 8741 1288 Monday to Friday between 9.30 am and 5 pm, send email at english@eerc.org.uk or ask during our drop-in surgeries every Monday and Thursday mornings.
The classes are open to all Eastern European nationals of working age, willing to improve their career or looking to get back into work and who are on low income.
Location:
East European Resource Centre
POSK, Ravenscourt Park
238 – 246 King Street
London, W6 0RF