Covid Level 5 Guidance

Covid-19 restrictions don’t make our work any easier, but they do increase the needs of those we are helping. It is vital to respect these measures in order to protect ourselves and others.

Volunteering in the UK (from 2nd January):

You may leave the home to provide voluntary or charitable services if you cannot reasonably do so from home.  Please consider whether the services you are providing are necessary.  Asylum seekers are often severely traumatised by events that they have experienced.  In circumstances where they have come to rely on our services and discontinuing them would lead to increased anxiety and tension we would consider those services to be essential.

Please try to avoid public transport, follow social distancing guidelines and take precautions (such as wearing face coverings) at all times.

There are circumstances in which you are allowed to meet others from outside your household in larger groups, but this should not be for socialising and only for permitted purposes. Providing voluntary or charitable services is a permitted purpose.  Wherever possible, this should be done outdoors.

Precautions

Your regional lead can provide templates for Covid risk assessments and help you to complete these for your specific activities.

• Please ensure that at all times face coverings are worn by everyone involved in all activities.
• Please provide sufficient hand sanitiser for use before, after and during activities.
• Please ensure all surfaces and equipment are wiped down before and after all activities.
• Please ensure all donations are quarantined for three day before distribution.
• Please ensure all participants are registered for track and trace purposes.
• Please do everything possible to ensure social distancing on distributions. We understand this is difficult when asylum seekers live together and see themselves as one ‘bubble’ but we do not want anything that we do to cause them harm.  The easiest way to ensure distancing is to mark this out on the floor, either using plastic markers or with chalk.   Please see images above.

Overall, please do prioritise your own safety and that of those you are helping, but remember that for those of you who are able to get involved, you can make a bigger difference than ever.

We will support you as much as we can.  Please get in touch if you have any questions.