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GARAS’ New Director

Following the recent announcement of Adele Owen’s retirement from GARAS, we are delighted to announce that, after an intensive recruitment process, Warren Lee has been appointed as the new Director.  Warren is currently working in a similar organisation in Southwark, so comes with lots of experience in the sector.

Warren says: I am excited to lead GARAS into its next chapter and build upon the excellent foundation established by my predecessor, Adele Owen. I hold a Masters in Refugee Studies and have a decade of experience working to support Asylum Seekers, Refugees, and Migrants across community settings and the immigration detention system, both on a local level and through national networks.  This experience has only deepened my commitment to GARAS’ vital work.

Ideally, organisations like ours would be unnecessary—we would live in a society that works for all and is caring, respectful and free from bureaucratic gatekeeping, while no one would need to flee their ancestral homes. Unfortunately, this is not our current reality. Step by step, I hope to contribute to supporting those seeking security in Gloucestershire as they rebuild their personal and professional lives with dignity and peace.

To show our appreciation of Adele’s 23 years at GARAS, we have set up a webpage for donations in her honour. If you would like to contribute to this, please visit www.stewardship.org.uk/pages/in_honour_of_Adele.

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GARAS is 25 years old!

2024 marked our 25th Birthday!  GARAS was first formed in 1999, so to celebrate the work that we have achieved over the past 25 years, we held 25 events throughout the year. Many of these were in partnership with other organisations, and we were delighted to share our celebrations in this way. 

Stories from Our Homes: These beautiful books, created specially for the 25th anniversary, are still available to purchase, with all profits going towards the work of GARAS. Long-term supporter, Jude Emmet, together with GARAS clients and friends, collected 31 stories from 25 different countries around the world. They were put into a book which has been beautifully illustrated by a former client of GARAS. Copies cost £20 each, and can be purchased by sending Jennie an email (admin@garas.org.uk).

We have put together a PowerPoint of the past 25 years of GARAS’ work. Please view it via this link.

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2023-24 Annual Report

Please click here to view and download a copy of our latest annual report.

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Southwest Immigration Alliance

There is shortage of legal advice – particularly immigration advice – across the Southwest, which has a huge affect on our clients.

GARAS is excited to be part of a new partnership, The Southwest Immigration Alliance, a project funded by the Justice Together Initiative (JTI) to increase access to specialist immigration advice in the Southwest region. See this article for further information.

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Ukraine

Our Ukrainian Advice and Support Team are available over the phone or at our regular drop in sessions (Monday, 10am-4pm; Wednesday, 10am-5pm; Friday, 10am-4pm). Please do get in touch with this team if you are Ukrainian and are hosting family, or are a UK host under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

For other details of the local response in Gloucester, please visit this page on the Gloucester County Council website.

If you would like to register your home to host a Ukrainian family, please visit the government website: https://homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk/. Alternatively, please visit Refugees at Home, a charity that has vast experience of hosting refugees, to find out more about offering your home through them.

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Green Impact

We have a green commitment policy which includes being part of the Fareshares food waste redistribution programme. FareShare is the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors, fighting hunger whilst tackling food waste: https://fareshare.org.uk/. We also help match items of furniture, bikes, household goods and other items with clients, reducing the number of items going to landfill, as well as being of huge benefit to our clients.

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All They Will Call You

GARAS volunteer, Ian Parker-Dodd, has written a collection of poetry entitled All They Will Call You.  Ian says, “this book was inspired in the time that I spent helping teach unaccompanied migrant children at GARAS for the four years leading up to the pandemic.”  As well as the thought-provoking, and at times provocative, poems, there are additional prose contributions from others connected to GARAS.

All They Will Call You is available to buy from GARAS, at a cost of £10 per copy, with a voluntary donation of £1.50 to cover p&p.  All proceeds will go towards the work of GARAS.  If you would like to purchase a copy, please email admin@garas.org.uk.

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Kinder Transport Anniversary Celebration

Here is a link to a You Tube video of the amazing event held at St Mary de Crypt on the 18th June 2019. This is an opportunity to hear the speakers from that occasion and be moved by the various stories told that night.

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