Leeds Asylum Seekers Support Network

Who we are

Leeds Asylum Seekers Support Network (LASSN) works with some of the most at-risk people in the country: asylum seekers and refugees escaping persecution who can end up isolated destitute, with little hope and few choices.

Our vision is that Asylum seekers and refugees will be safe, respected, supported and empowered to rebuild their lives free of persecution.

LASSN has two aims. The first is to meet some of the social needs of refugees and asylum seekers by reducing isolation, providing advocacy support and encouraging self-help.  The second is to raise awareness of issues facing refugees and asylum seekers based on our experiences.

LASSN's objectives are that asylum seekers be

 - Supported and relieved from hardship and distress by local people

 - Empowered to rebuild their lives, to fulfil their potential and to take control of their lives

 - Integrated, settled and safe. LASSN wants Leeds to be a place of welcome and understanding and for the general public, organisations, politicians, and policymakers to understand the needs of asylum seekers.  

Our Current Activities

English at Home - where volunteer tutors are matched with 120 asylum seekers and refugees who cannot attend mainstream English classes because of poor health, disability, or caring responsibilities.

Hosting & Housing - where hosts offer hospitality in their homes (evening meal, bed and breakfast) for a few months at a time, or one of two houses where 4 destitute asylum-seeking men live for 12 months at a time, with mental health and social support. 

Information and Awareness raising - via one of our four websites  

         lassn.org.uk tells the story of LASSN and reaches about 15,000 different people a year.

         helpinleeds.com is an online directory of groups and services offering free help to asylum seekers

          and refugees in Leeds

         migrationpartnership.org.uk is a blog covering local asylum, refuge and broader migration issues

         newtoleeds.org.uk is a guide for new migrants to Leeds, co-developed with migrants themsleves.

Welcome and Connect connects 50 isolated refugees a year with volunteers who help them build their confidence, improve their English, make contacts and friends in their local community, and find out about the help and services available.

Our culture and values

We're an inclusive bunch, and many of us are also activists outside of working hours. Many of us have caring responsibilities and families as well, so we promote ways of working that are flexible and fair to everyone.  

Our anti-racist values are central to the way we work, and we truly believe the more diverse our workforce is, the better support we can offer.  

We try to share our values by making all of our policies and procedures and training materials freely available to anyone who wants them, as well as offering our premises and resources (to other orgs who share our mission/values) at zero cost. 

We have a strong focus on giving and getting - and see the importance of reciprocity in establishing and maintaining equality and dignity. We encourage all staff members to develop their skills and expertise by working in partnership with other agencies and to bring good ideas back to LASSN.   

Also, work at LASSN should be enjoyable. We're operating in a tough environment, working alongside people who are really at the sharp end of global conflict and often climate change - but we still believe that work can be enjoyable, meaningful and fun.   

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

We think we should be measured on the basis of our actions and outcomes, rather than on our policy and procedures alone.

We have a robust Equality and Diversity Policy, whose principles are woven into all aspects of our policy and procedure, service design, and governance  - which is reviewed annually. 

Some examples of how we are trying to ensure we remain fair and equal to everyone 

Our last Staff awayday was themed "Everyone equal, everyone respected and everyone included" and reviewed how well our walk measured up to our talk.

Our last team training event was entitled "can (refugee) Charities ever be politically neutral, and is this desirable?" and our next one is on "Gender and Identity"

We're proud to have a volunteer team of more than 250 people drawn from a wide range of ethnicities, experiences and social backgrounds  - and we achieve this by careful planning of volunteer recruitment and analysis of people's experiences (with data taken from our Annual Volunteers survey)

We're currently doing some targeted recruitment to our Board of Trustees, to ensure the Board has more representation of people with lived experience of seeking safety in the UK.     

We're founding partners of Leeds Solidarity Network (along with Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange, Basis Yorkshire (a charity supporting sex workers) and MESMAC - a sexual health charity with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ communities).  

We're keen to include people with experience of forced migration at every level of our organisation.