Social work solidarity with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.
Who we are
Social Workers Without Borders is a registered charity. We offer voluntary services to asylum seekers, refugees and those impacted by borders, independently of Government and Local Authorities, using our social work skill and expertise. This allows us to develop our own criteria of involvement adhering to our professional ethics and values as laid down by our registering bodies and the International Federation of Social Workers.
We have three distinct pillars to our work;
Direct Work
Social Work Education
Campaigns
To contact us please email info@socialworkerswithoutborders.org
What we can provide
Direct Work: Our experienced Direct Work Case Coordinators support and mentor volunteer social workers across the UK to provide pro-bono* Independent Social Work Reports for children, families and individuals impacted by immigration and asylum processes. We accept referrals from solicitors representing a range of clients and can provide expert Independent Social Work Reports (including Best Interests and Article 8 reports). This can include visiting children elsewhere in Europe.
SWWB's Direct Work Case Co-Coordinator's provide support and supervision to social work volunteers. We oversee the coordination of the assessment, liaising with solicitors and provide close mentoring and reflective support to volunteers for the duration of the assessment, providing final reviewing comments prior to submission of the report.
Our aim is to continue to train and support social work volunteers in this specialised area of work, ultimately providing greater knowledge, skills and understanding that can assist social workers in their day to day practice.
*SWWB will also claim Legal Aid where this is available, which is used to subsidise the majority of our pro-bono work.
To refer to us please email swwbcases@protonmail.com. We will aim to acknowledge your email within 48 hours.
Please note we are not an emergency service - please contact your solicitor if you are worried about your asylum application.
Covid-19 Update
We are following government advice in response to Covid-19. We are able to take referrals as usual and we can undertake assessments either in person or via phone/Skype where possible.
Education and Campaigning
New Immigration Plan - SWWB response
See our webinar on the governments new plan for Immigration
Whilst claiming to build a fairer and safer immigration and asylum system, the tone and content of the governments new plan is clearly intended to build on a narrative of illegality and criminality around people in the UK who have insecure immigration status and people who are seeking refuge here. It serves to further embed the hostile environment that this, and preceding governments have created for migrants and people seeking refuge. This policy proposal undermines international conventions on the rights of refugees and is an attack on human rights and fair judicial process. The erosion of these civil safeguards is harmful to us all. We stand in solidarity with people made vulnerable by border regimes and will continue to uphold a social work practice and perspective that recognises the inherent dignity, worth and humanity of every person.
Further Education and Campaigning: We are active in producing educational materials for social workers and promoting social work activism with refugees, asylum seekers and all those negatively affected by borders.
https://www.criticalpublishing.com/anti-racist-social-worker
SWWB are pleased to be able to publicise the Anti-Racist Social Worker, stories of activism, which will be an inspiring read. The royalties from this book are going to be donated to SWWB so a massive thank you to all involved.
Take Action
Ready to take the next step? You can become a contributor to our cause, or participate yourself.
SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT TREATMENT OF AFGHAN ASYLUM SEEKERS:
Social Workers Without Borders have joined together with the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), the Social Work Action Network (SWAN) and the Social Work Union (SWU) to write to the UK government on behalf of the social work profession to raise immediate concerns about the treatment of Afghan asylum-seekers, the inhumanity of the Nationality and Borders bill and the failure to adhere to our Children Act (1989) duties to unaccompanied children.
We ask that the Government complies with the demands set out by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) which seek to improve the government response to people from Afghanistan and address other concerns.
Please read our full joint letter here…