A parish in Salford Diocese will become the first to host a Syrian refugee family as part of the government’s new Community Sponsorship scheme.
St Monica’s in Flixton will support the family financially and practically when they arrive this summer, after meeting the criteria set by the government for those wishing to support people entering Britain as part of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme.
Bishop of Salford, John Arnold, said: “It is a source of pride that the parish of St Monica’s has worked so hard to get everything ready to be part of this pilot scheme. There is tremendous generosity throughout the parishes and St Monica’s, as host for the Syrian family, has shown how this generosity can be channelled into care for those people who have lost everything.”
Last year Pope Francis invited every Catholic parish in Europe to respond to the growing refugee crisis and recently surprised the world by inviting Syrian families to live in the Vatican.
Sean Ryan, one of the community sponsors at St Monica’s, said his parish “should be the first of many” to take on the resettlement of Syrian families.
Community Sponsorship can be embraced by a diverse range of groups, including universities, local businesses, churches, synagogues and mosques, as long as they demonstrate to the Home Office they are capable of providing £4,500 per adult refugee.
The role of the sponsoring group includes welcoming the refugee family at the airport, helping them acclimatize to their new home, enrolling adults in official English lessons, as well as helping them with English conversation, and showing family members how to register with the Job Centre and with a GP.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols said he was “delighted” at the launch of the scheme and said other groups were keen to sign up and help. He said it would “enable everyone to get involved with welcoming refugees, offering a very real and tangible way for people to help new arrivals settle into their communities”.
The cardinal said all those parishes and groups keen to help should contact their diocesan refugee coordinator or Caritas Social Action Network for further details.
According to a statement released by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Caritas Salford has been heavily involved with designing and shaping the scheme alongside the office of Richard Harrington MP. Until the recent Conservative ministerial reshuffle, Mr Harrington was the Under Secretary of State for Syrian Refugees.
Under the resettlement scheme, refugees will receive a five-year humanitarian visa, which allows them to work from day one or claim Job Seekers Allowance, housing benefits and any other allowance they qualify for. Children will be entitled to schooling, and all sponsored refugees will have free access to the NHS.
The qualifying refugees must be Syrian and currently still living in or around the war-torn state. After their five-year visa expires they are eligible to apply for a more permanent visa, and even become citizens.
Photo: Syrian refugee family in a camp on the Turkey-Syria border
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