Registered Charity
1 - 5 About us
Who we are
AVID exists to reduce the immediate suffering of people detained and work towards a future without detention. We do this by enabling the vital role of visitors to immigration detention whilst facilitating collective action amongst UK visitor groups.
AVID is a national network of 13 visitor groups, representing more than 500 volunteers, who visit people detained under immigration powers. Collectively, members of our network visit all seven Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs), all four Residential Short-Term Holding Facilities (RSTHF) and various prisons, and work in solidarity with more than 3000 people detained a year. We provide 1:1 support to visitor groups, working with them from the earliest stages of establishing support and thereafter providing an ongoing programme of training, bespoke resources, and infrastructure provision. We provide a programme of structured peer support, skill-sharing and cultivate a community of care. This is underpinned by our Members Charter which are the seven shared values at the heart of our network. These values are solidarity; community; anti-racism and anti-oppression; lived-experience led; independence; care and accountability; and dignity. These values ensure that we remain connected to our longer-term vision, a future without detention. AVID's advocacy is based on the lived experiences of people who have been detained. We work to research, collate and produce evidence and information on the realities of detention, and to use this as a tool for positive change.
