After two and a half years of campaigning for a Community Sponsorship scheme for Afghans and almost a year of collaboration with the UK Government to turn the idea into a reality and secure the funding, the Communities for Afghans Scheme is now up and running.

Citizens UK has been asked to act as sole Principal Sponsor for 100 Sponsorship Groups for 100 Afghan families eligible for resettlement under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme over the next six months. Our aim is that this serves as a model that can be opened up to a much wider range of people in the future if we can demonstrate the success of this. The programme includes financial support to help with costs, and dedicated training and support from our Sponsor Refugees Team.

Interested in playing a role? Well, we are looking for people who can:

• Recruit a small team of at least 6 people committed to offering a warm welcome to an Afghan refugee family in your community for the next two years;
• Help identify and secure a property to house the family (it needs to have its own front door and be of good quality);
• Support the family to access benefits and public services, and move towards sustainable employment.

If this sounds interesting but you want to learn more, this session will provide some more detail about what you can expect along with an opportunity to ask any burning questions. Please note that the scheme is currently only operating in England and Scotland.