A new campaign aiming to recruit families to look after young unaccompanied asylum-seekers arriving in the Capital has been launched by the City of Edinburgh Council.
Last year saw an increase in the number of young people aged 16 years and over coming to the city from a range of countries across the Middle East and North Africa as well as Vietnam.
In total 25 arrived in Edinburgh compared to nine the year before.
As a local authority the Council has a duty of care to look after any child when their parent or carer cannot be identified. This includes children arriving in the city unaccompanied and the Council provides support with accommodation, education and health care.
Many speak little or no English when they arrive and have often experienced the trauma of war, poverty or trafficking.
The Council is looking to recruit 12 host families who can provide loving homes for the young people. Prospective families need to have a spare room and live in Edinburgh or within travelling distance of the city. It’s helpful if they have experience/skills in caring for young people however training, support and a financial allowance are all provided. Hosts can be married, single or in a partnership, employed or unemployed and enquiries are welcome from all cultures and backgrounds.
Excerpts from two families who have hosted asylum-seeking children are below (full testimonies at the end of the release – names have been changed):
John’s family have looked after a 17-year-old Vietnamese boy since 2018.
John said: “Being a host family is a fascinating and rewarding experience in which both sides, carers and young people, can learn from each other, open minds and build relationships despite cultural and language differences and life’s inevitable challenges.”
Sandra’s family took in a 16-year-old trafficked Vietnamese boy last year who has now ‘blossomed’ into an incredible young man who has very much become part of their family.
She said: “We have been humbled by the respect, joy and fun that he has brought to our family home. Our own children have learned so much and have gained their own insights into how lucky we are to have our home and our family and friends around us. I would encourage anyone in Edinburgh to get involved with this opportunity.”
Councillor Ian Perry, Convener for Education, Children and Families at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “This is a really rewarding role as the young people who arrive here face uncertainty about their future life in the United Kingdom. We need families who can provide a safe, nurturing environment to support them into independence and I would urge anyone who may be considering being a host family to contact us for more information.”
Councillor Alison Dickie, Vice Convener said: “We will always put young people at the heart of any decisions we make and this is so important when it comes to unaccompanied asylum seekers from different parts of the world. This is an opportunity for Edinburgh families to show their support and compassion for young people who have experienced terrible trauma whether as a result of a war-torn conflict or being trafficked.”
John’s full testimony:
"It was exactly one year ago when S moved to our flat and I (first alone, then together with my partner) became his host family. We started the fascinating journey of building relationships and learning about each other’s personalities and culture.
“I remember our first meeting when we were introduced to each other by social workers. S seemed to be shy, quiet and very anxious. We were chatting with the help of the interpreter. He wasn’t fluent in English but more than this he didn’t feel confident to speak. When he came to stay with us in the beginning S was a bit reserved but clearly happy about his new home. I remember seeing him jumping on the sofa and laughing. With time he got more relaxed and more open and was able to spend more time with us and share stories about his family and neighbourhood. We got more familiar with Vietnamese culture and food. S is a great cook and cooks for all of us from time to time, all his meals are very tasty and healthily cooked from fresh ingredients. Thanks to him we have visited more Vietnamese and Asian restaurants in Edinburgh than ever before.
“With the passing weeks and months S became more confident in his new life in Scotland, improved his English and our relationship with him became stronger. He can be more open about his emotions and thoughts. After his asylum request got accepted by Home Office he received a travel document and that allowed us to go for some short trips and holidays abroad. These trips were always fun and I can clearly see that he is curious about the world and keen to see new places and meet new people.
“One of the happiest moments was for me was the day of my recent birthday when S made me a virtual birthday card with our pictures together from different situations with the wishes: happy birthday my daddy. It meant a lot to me.
“I would also like to mention the great support we receive from the team of dedicated social workers helping us with their guidelines and advice. Apart of the usual forms of contact (meetings, phone calls and emails) with social workers, we can share with other host families during the monthly evening sessions for host families and foster carers. I find that helpful and inspiring.
“Being a host family is a fascinating and rewarding experience in which both sides, carers and young people can learn from each other, open minds and build relationships despite cultural and language differences and life’s inevitable challenges.”
Sandra’s full testimony:
"We are a host family that mostly offer respite rather than full time care. We were matched with a 16-year-old Vietnamese boy in March 2019 who was trafficked for 2 years before being cared for in Edinburgh. He was initially quite wary and uncertain but has blossomed into an incredible young man who has very much become part of our family. In the beginning he had very little English and so we had to be creative in the ways we communicated - google translate helped a lot! We got great support from the Social Work team and got duo lingual books which our boy really loved. We ourselves have grown in our appreciation and understanding of what is happening in other countries and other families across the world beyond Scotland.
“We were initially a bit worried about how this would all work out as we both work; and whether we would have the capacity and the skills to manage a trafficked young person but we learned slowly and so did he and we treated him like we would treat our own children. We have been humbled by the respect, joy and fun that he has brought to our family home. Our own children have learned so much and have gained their own insights into how lucky we are to have our home and our family and friends around us. I would encourage anyone in Edinburgh to get involved with this opportunity.”
Anyone interested in finding out more about being a host family for young people who are unaccompanied asylum seekers should contact the Council on 0131 529 2773 or 0800 174 833.