Brighton Catholics house refugees

The Catholic charity Voices in Exile has used a £10,000 donation from an anonymous religious community to launch a rent deposit loan scheme to help refugee families find stable homes, writes Katherine Backler.

The initial contribution is expected to enable seven Syrian families (21 people) already living in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton to put deposits down on homes and pay the first month of rent. A member of the religious community said: “We were moved by the Pope taking people into the Vatican, and although we were not in a situation to house people directly, we were able to share a gift we had been given.”

The large anonymous donation bolsters other initiatives operated by churches in Brighton. This year, before the launch of the scheme, one Catholic parish in the diocese loaned a rental deposit to four refugee families, and a local Anglican parish council offered to rent its old parsonage to another family.

A spokesman for the parish council said: “The Syrian family who are now housed in our parsonage have been a pleasure to get to know and are an asset to our church community.”

Voices in Exile also houses refugees through the Government’s Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Programme. In this way, the charity has housed 14 people across five properties – four of which were offered by Catholic landlords. In all cases, the local St. Vincent de Paul Society has helped to furnish the properties.

Voices in Exile operates out of the community centre of St Mary Magdalene RC Church in Brighton, and has been supporting refugees for 10 years.