Volunteering

The most important way we support our clients is through visits from our volunteers. The main volunteer role is to visit immigration detainees (mostly asylum-seekers) held at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Removal Centres near Heathrow. Our volunteers give emotional support and limited practical assistance, but not legal advice. Each volunteer visitor is allocated one detainee, whom they visit every week to 10 days.

Detainees can be held indefinitely, and lengths of detention vary from brief periods to 2 years or more. In many cases volunteer visitors see the same detainee over a significant period, and are able to develop a trust relationship with them, which can be enormously rewarding for both volunteer and detainee.

We cannot give legal advice, so the emphasis in our work is on emotional support. However, we can assist detainees by being a point of contact with the solicitors, bail organisations and other organisations who may be able to help them. Our freephone line means that for many detainees we are their main link to the outside world.

The visiting hours are 2pm - 9pm every day, so visitors go whenever is convenient for them - they just need to arrange with the detainee in advance. For many volunteers the journey to the centres is long - the centres are a 10-minute bus journey followed by a 5-minute walk from Heathrow Terminals 1-3 underground station on the Piccadilly Line. It also takes time to get through security at the centres, so for most volunteers visiting takes a whole afternoon or evening. LDSG reimburses all travel expenses.

LDSG also uses office volunteers, based at our office at Unit 3R, Leroy House, 436 Essex Road, London N1 3QP, near Highbury and Islington underground station. The main tasks involved are answering the freephone line to detainees, making calls / referrals on their behalf to other organisations, entering detainees' details on the database and sending information packs.

LDSG provides training to all new volunteers before they begin. Our induction training is one intensive 3-hour session, covering the asylum system, detention and bail, and also listening and visiting skills. New volunteers are also accompanied on their first visit by an experienced volunteer mentor, who provides initial support and guidance. Volunteer meetings are also held every six weeks.

If you are interested in getting involved as a volunteer, please contact Jerome, Charlotte or Aoife on 020 7226 3114.