What we do & how to access help
Baobab advocates give confidential advice and assistance to women on immigration, health, financial and housing issues. As well as information on other projects and services, colleges and support groups.
We focus on undocumented and asylum seeking women, and help newly granted refugees and settled women access established community services. We prioritise women who have been affected by gender violence and trafficking.
Our ethos is to engage women to learn about and navigate the system in a positive way, stand in their own power and draw on supportive people and networks. Practicing advocates have years experience and are working with newly qualified advocates, we are all developing casework skills.
We work with community interpreters, who speak Albanian, Arabic, Amharic, Farsi, French, Fula, Hindi, Mindinka, Kurdish Sorani, Oromo, Punjabi, Tamil, Tigrenya, Urdu and Wollof.
Complete our referral form to let us know about a woman that needs support, or women can come to the drop in.
Help Refugees Charity Pot Award
We have been granted funds from Help Refugees to continue our advocacy work in 2019-2020. Adding the Wisdom Factory funds, and some funds from the Meena Centre we are now able to open the drop in every week to support women and share knowledge.
-
Our advocates will build their skills, and work as a stronger team.
-
We will deliver advocacy through drop in and 1-1 appointments.
-
We will have one group a month, with food, for advocates to share their knowledge around casework with women accessing support, so they can learn and share experiences together - group summaries available here.
-
We will get a new database to enable us to store and report on information more efficiently.
-
Theres a few hours coordination time to organise activities.
Be Together, Change the World
Rosa, The UK Fund for Women and Girls
We are excited to have been chosen to get funding to run groups every 2 weeks, delivered by advocates with lived experience, to empower and inspire community women. The group will produce a photographic book to take to change makers.
We raise awareness of the different forms of exploitation and discrimination affecting refugee and migrant women and support them to find a positive ways to live life. Our aims are to find ways to influence positive social change so that issues are prevented from repeating. We have worked with local and national organisations on asylum accommodation standards, and contributed to the national NGO coalition to lift the ban, supported end detention campaigns and destitution initiatives, and attended the UN CEDAW - UK State review on violence against women in 2018-2019.
We share knowledge and experience on important issues through this website, twitter, meetings, training, research & events working with, local and migrant groups, universities, the voluntary sector and statutory sector.
Currently Baobab is a member of the ASAN Asylum Support Network, Hope Projects Destitution Group, the Regional Destitution Network Group, the Migration Forum, the West Midlands Anti Slavery Network and the Gender and Sexual Based Violence Community of Practice.
Akoko Isinmi - Relaxation Time
-
Lottery Community Fund support our wellbeing activites.
-
Monthly self-care meetings for advocates and interpreters to process the struggles of women they support and counter vicarious trauma.
-
72 acupuncture sessions with travel expenses for women who have suffered violence and abuse.
-
Travel and interpreter expenses for women accessing 72 counselling sessions.
-
3 art workshops with member beneficiaries so they can feel supported and transfer worries into pictures.
-
Bi-monthly group wellbeing activities.
-
Bi-yearly advocate and volunteer group outings for volunteers.
