A much-loved Islington community centre which has changed the lives of thousands of refugees is facing closure.
The Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants had its funding cut by Waltham Forest college in July and is unlikely to raise the money to survive beyond January.
Andrew Ruiz Palma, Project Manager of the Islington Centre, said: “We deal with hundreds of people who need help every year. We help on issues such as immigration, health, homelessness, translation and generally just navigating the system.
“We help those who come into the country to find work, to get them set up on jobseeker’s allowance and mundane but necessary things like paying bills and knowing which hoops they need to jump through to sort housing.”
The centre has grown exponentially since it was founded in 1997. In 17 years, it has developed from running one course to eight per year and there are over 130 refugees and migrants registered today.
Although the centre was initially told it only had one month to find external funding, Palma was able to get the deadline extended from August to January.
“They told me in July that the funding had gone and that we had until the end of August,” he said. “It was completely irresponsible of them but I managed to get us through until January. It has been a struggle.”
With more than 50 volunteers and a number of professional staff, the centre has become an entrenched part of Islington life.
“We’ve helped a huge amount of people,” Palma said. “One man from Bolivia named Edward came to us one day, not speaking a word of English.
“Eventually, we got him on the course, which he shot through. He then started volunteering for us and now he’s doing a mechanical engineering degree.”
The centre has embarked on a campaign to raise money in order to survive, and have started a petition which has already gained hundreds of signatures.
Correction: The second paragraph of this article incorrectly stated Islington Council cut the funding. It was Waltham Forest college.
