Volunteering your time

Community Works

You can view city wide volunteering opportunities in Brighton & Hove on the Community Works website.

Refugee Radio

Refugee Radio run befriending services and a mental health support group and are often looking for volunteers, please send an email to info@refugeeradio.org.uk for more information.

The Migrant English Project

Welcoming asylum seekers, refugees and migrants to Brighton & Hove, The Migrant English Project look to recruit volunteers to support with English.

Brighton Exiled/Refugee Trauma Service (BERTS)

BERTS periodically look to recruit volunteers for their befriending scheme.

The Hummingbird Project works creatively 1 to 1 and in groups with young refugees in Brighton. Visit the Hummingbird Project website for more information.

Conversation Over Borders

Conversation Over Borders regularly looks for volunteers to support with English conversational support.

Sussex Interpreting Services

Sussex Interpreting Services (SIS) is looking for bilingual volunteers in both Pashto and Dari. SIS volunteers help with Befriending, Social Prescribing and/or Health Promotion.

All volunteers receive free training and skills development, support from the project coordinator and reimbursement of expenses. For more information, please contact ben@sussexinterpreting.org.uk or use their online forms.

Spare rooms and hosting

While the council is only looking for long-term self-contained accommodation, there are a number of organisations you can contact if you have a spare room or short term space you would like to offer.

Refugees at Home Be A Host

Refugees At Home connects those with a spare room in their home to refugees and asylum seekers in need of somewhere to stay.

Room for Refugees

Room for Refugees offer a similar service to Refugees at Home. ·

Thousand 4 £1000

Making homes for refugees, Thousand 4 £1000 is a Brighton-based charity which pools hundreds of small regular donations to provide temporary accommodation.

Fostering and Supported Lodging

You can find information on fostering young refugees and asylum seekers and information on supporting young refugees and asylum seekers leaving care on our website.

While expressions of interest are always warmly welcomed, please remember that fostering and supported lodgings is a process that takes time. Considering you will be working with young people, often with complex needs, proper assessment for suitability will take place.

Material goods and food donations

Voices in Exile

Voices in Exile offer practical, material, legal, and integration support for refugees and asylum seekers in our city.

Voices in Exile welcome:

  • monetary donations
  • food donations, toiletries, and cleaning products for their weekly food bank. Current item list:
    • rice
    • pasta
    • tinned fish
    • cooking oil
    • tins of chopped tomatoes
    • chickpeas
    • lentils
    • washing detergent
    • shower gel
    • shampoo
    • hand soap
    • toothpaste (adult and children)

Donations must be in date, unopened and in good condition. Please send an email to foodbankcoordinator@voicesinexile.org or phone 01273 328598 to arrange drop-off.

Care4Calais

For clothes, toiletries and similar donations, please contact Care4Calais who will distribute to refugees and asylum seekers in need, both in the Brighton & Hove area and nationally.

They also regularly seek volunteers to support them.

Pelican Parcels

For toys and other children’s items, please consider donating to Pelican Parcels who take pre-loved and new item donations for babies and children up to age of 10, and redistribute them to families facing financial hardship via various existing family services in Brighton & Hove in Sussex.

Charity Shops

Refugees and asylum seekers in Brighton & Hove use local charity shops to buy affordable clothes and other items, like anyone else, and this enables them to make their own choices.