Inside the wonderful Leeds charity that has been supporting refugees and asylum seekers for over 20 years

Asiyeh Soork is the project manager who helps manage 50 volunteers at Christ Church in Armley every Monday to help refugees and asylum seekers hoping to settle in Leeds and get the support they need to feel at home.

They are all part of Meeting Point, a charity that has been operating out of the church since 2003 to help those arriving in West Yorkshire after escaping war, discrimination, famine and violence.

It provides the tools and essentials that they may otherwise go without; providing food packages, clothes and a loving community as well as English speaking classes, advocacy and help with applications for housing, benefits or other issues.

Once an asylum seeker herself, Asiyeh’s story is one of many shocking examples of what drives people to leave their homes and families to seek sanctuary elsewhere.

Mrs Soork came to the UK seven years ago as an asylum seeker from Iran, when she began fearing for her safety as she looked at converting to a different religion.

She said: “I was born as a Muslim and in my country you can be sentenced to death if you change.

“I was just exploring and asking for new information and in my country the government are very controlling. My friend was arrested and she had my details, which is why I was advised to leave.”

Mrs Soork had to leave her husband and 11-year-old son behind as she moved to Belfast. However, she said that she was “lucky” in that she was able to get refugee status after six months and bring her family to live with her.

She said: “Because there are a lot of examples of people being away from their families for years it was scary.

“We had a very normal life and everything changed overnight.”

She said that she encourages other asylum seekers to get volunteer work while they wait to get the outcome of their status application to build up their confidence, adding: “My own experience is if you get the feeling that you need to stay at home, then you can’t start your own life.

“The system makes you feel like you need benefits and need to be very good to get a job, while interview skills can be very hard to learn.

“Volunteering is the best way to get confidence again and you feel like you are giving back, while at the same time learning how the system works here.”

Mrs Soork worked as a psychologist in Iran and, having worked for another similar charity in Harehills, she is now fixed on providing a programme of therapy tailored for refugees and asylum seekers.

She also spoke about the negative tag that refugees and asylum seekers are branded with, particularly as politics and discourse feel ever more divided, saying: “I think it’s really important to know about the reason why an asylum seeker is coming to this country. Because in every country there might be a terrifying story.

“They just see asylum seekers as a number or someone taking their jobs, but if more was done to raise awareness about individual stories, I think more people would get to that point of understanding.”

Meeting Point welcomes refugees from all over the world, with Mrs Soork saying that there has been more people from Africa and Iran in recent times.

She said: “There is more demand for housing, which is one of the biggest challenges in Leeds. When you get refugee status you are then at risk of being left homeless.”

On Mondays Meeting Point has drop-in sessions between 2.15pm and 5pm at Christ Church, where hundreds of visitors come for a hot meal and food parcels to take home, as well as receiving other avenues of help with housing, jobs and advocacy.

On Wednesday the charity has an activity day between 12.15pm and 2.15pm that includes everything from knitting, sewing, cooking, arts and crafts, singing, computer use and more to help build confidence, self-esteem and learn new skills.

Mrs Soork said: “We focus more on crisis support on Mondays and on resilience support on Wednesdays.”

It is all part of the difficult process asylum seekers have to go through to settle in the UK, Mrs Soork explained.

She added: “When you apply, it depends on the accommodation the Home Office has in where they put you. Then you have to wait for an interview, which can take years, and then either you get status or you can appeal the decision if you can’t go back.

“If you get refugee status there’s another challenge because you need housing benefit and other support.

“Before you get status you don’t have the right to work. So imagine coming to the country but you don’t have the right to work or have money. That’s what makes a lot of them go to the black market.”

Many volunteers are in the process of seeking asylum themselves or have come back to help out as a show of gratitude for the support that was offered to them.

Kat Morley-Yates, an Armley local, was one of the volunteers on the day we visited helping get people registered with the charity as they arrive.

She said: “You find that people are quite willing to share their stories. It’s interesting to get that insight in to the traumatic events as we hear them on the news but to hear them first-hand is a massive difference. They bring it to life and it’s understandable why they seek asylum.

“You can feel really hopeless but after coming here for six months I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve been around a more vibrant and caring environment than at Meeting Point.

“We provide them a place where they can contribute to what makes Leeds wonderful.”

For more information, to donate or to enquire about how you can help, visit the Meeting Point website.