St. Augustine's Centre

Who we are

In 1968 St. Augustine’s Church began running a Pre school play group. They soon extended this to community lunches, ESOL classes and social activities in response to local need. The work grew over the years, and when Calderdale became a dispersal area for the asylum process in the early 2000s the outreach extended to people who needed help to settle into life in the UK.

St. Augustine’s Centre became an independent charity in 2009, and provision continues to expand. We give a warm welcome and safe space to people seeking support and sanctuary; together we share food, stories and build relationships.

We offer specialist advice on immigration and asylum support, and one to one support with welfare, housing, health and access to wider services. We provide hot meals, English language classes, training, cultural, social and wellbeing activities, trips and volunteering opportunities. We have a nursery, spaces for reflection and an integration service. As a core member of the Calderdale Valley of Sanctuary, we want to share stories and build awareness about human rights, advocating and campaigning locally and nationally.

We have 12 staff, 140 volunteers and a community of 750 individuals and families from 57 different countries.