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BEACON was set up out of a shared concern to address the practical and
spiritual needs of the many asylum seekers in the Bradford district. It
is an ecumenical response to fulfil the Biblical injunction to welcome
the stranger, but seeks to work with other faith groups and secular agencies
to offer care and support to asylum seekers.
BEACON seeks ways to provide practical support by working with other local
agencies such as the Red Cross and BIASAN and is not in competition with
them. Its task is to maximise support across the churches and harness
resources, human and financial, through this explicitly ecumenical Christian
project. It takes asylum issues to the heart of the worship and fellowship
life of the Bradford Met churches
As well as campaigning on asylum issues and awareness-raising primarily
within churches, BEACON has three projects:
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McKenzie
Friends are trained volunteers who provide moral support
and informed help for those, without access to legal representation,
appealing against asylum decisions at Phoenix House, the Asylum and
Immigration Hearings Centre at Thornbury.
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CHAT
(Care and Hospitality
at Thornbury) offers a warm welcome and simple refreshments to asylum
seekers waiting for their appeals to start at Phoenix House.
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BEACON
Hosting Project is currently being developed. It aims
to identify people within the Bradford District who, with support,
will be able to provide short, medium and sometimes longer-term accommodation,
within their homes, to destitute asylum seekers |
For further information
please contact the BEACON Development Worker:
Judy Midgley
BEACON
c/o Touchstone
32, Merton Rd
Bradford
BD7 IRE.
Tel 01274 727525
/ 721626 |
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