Hub Spotlight - Love Your Neighbour, Crawley
Welcome to our Hub Spotlight! We heard from Liz Burston, from the Love Your Neighbour Crawley Hub, on what they have most recently been doing to support and engage the growing refugee population in their town, as well as others who are isolated in the community. Love Your Neighbour Crawley is partnering with 26 other local churches – which is incredible! Read on to find out more.
At Love Your Neighbour Crawley, we have seen a major increase for the need of support within our town, one of the worst affected as a result of the pandemic. This includes the local refugee population who are looking for support and people to connect with.
Many people have found their way to our town centre hub. The hub is a safe space for anyone and anyone who needs help or support. We offer a wide range of support from our signposting service to a cup of tea and a chat, In September alone so far, we helped nearly 30 families.
The local refugee population have also been looking for support and people to connect with. Through partnering with other local organisations and charities we have seen a desperate need for extracurricular activities. So, we started Thursday football! Each week we have over 50 refugees from three local hotels joining us for a couple hours of freedom, relaxation, and fun. It helps our communities unite and with the help of volunteers and donations of goods and services we can make this happen weekly and have been doing so since July.
Since May our volunteers have been running a 'Friday Tuck Shop', in which chocolate bars (and ice creams during the heatwave!) are delivered to 6 hotels in and around Crawley who have opened their doors to refugees fleeing their countries. Since we began in May over 1000 refugees have received and consumed just short of 11000 chocolate bars! It seems a small treat to us but it's a big treat to brighten their day!
We continue to help those isolated with shopping, prescriptions, gardening, and other vital errands. Following a recent visit to the hospital thanks to a volunteer, one client said
"I just want it on record how marvellous that lady is and all the help she has given me recently. Without her doing what she did, I wouldn't have got all the help I needed".
The volunteer had not only shopped for him, but then attended his surgery to tell them he needed medical help. She went above and beyond!
Love Your Neighbour Hubs facilitate community-based support through wrap-around care, such as mental health groups, drop-in cafes, and supportive relationships. Read more about us.