Community Development Workers for Adult Mental Health at the NHS contacted Preston City of Sanctuary this summer to find out how they could best support asylum seekers.

Preston City of Sanctuary volunteers met with them in early September where two sessions have been organised for asylum seekers.

At the end of September this year, an asylum seeker volunteer session was organised with twenty Talk English and Hello Preston! volunteers attending at St Cuthbert’s Church in Fulwood.

All volunteers help sanctuary seekers develop their communication skills and well being through their weekly sessions but would like to know how they can further help support people with mental health problems.

Coming up at the beginning of November, a six-week ‘recovery’ course will be piloted to help with the mental health of English language learners and ethnic minorities, including asylum seekers. Topics covered include:

Symptoms of mental distress

Coping Strategies

Relapse Prevention

Personal Goals

Building Support Networks

Self Advocacy

Building a hopeful outlook

If you are interested in learning more, or would like to help adapt the materials and resources for asylum seekers that you work with, please do contact us here at [email protected]