The Olallo Project for Homeless MigrantsA collaborative venture involving The Passage

Newsletter Number 22 Summer 2009www.vmp.org.uk

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Vincentian Millennium PartnershipDepaul Resource Centre

Oxford StreetWhitley Bay

Tyne and WearNE26 1AD

Tel: 0191 253 6161

Thousands gather for Mass for Migrants and Rally

“If this is the last event I att end as Cardinal, I would be very proud.”

These were the words of His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop of Westminster, on Thursday !9th February, 2009, as he formally opened and blessed the Olallo Project. The project, which has been established by The Passage, the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, and the Congregati on of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God, is a response to the plight of the hundreds of newly arrived migrants into London who are falling into homelessness. From the outset, the Cardinal has supported this initi ati ve and has been impati ent to see this unique work actually begin. The project, based in central London, provides short-term accommodati on together with training, and a reconnecti ons service aiming to provide a service to meet the two most clearly identi fi ed needs of its clients: assisti ng people through a programme of training and educati on into employment, and where this is not possible, to develop a reconnecti ons service working in partnership with agencies in the home countries to establish a route home for individuals. Presently, there is no service of this type in the UK - this is real pioneering work.

Development of the Project

By mid 2006, there was mounting evidence that a number of migrant workers arriving in Britain, as a result of the EU expansion, were experiencing homelessness on the streets of central London. For the vast majority of migrant workers the transition to life and work in Britain is successfully negotiated with little intervention by local services. However, there are those who arrive who are ill-prepared, or who came with existing difficulties such as poor language skills, illness, alcohol dependency or debt. Frustration

grew at the lack of a positive response from some key central government departments. A partnership was formed between The Passage, the Poor Servants of the Mother of God and the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God to offer some service to these newly arrived migrants into London who were falling into homelessness. This group drew on expert advice from agencies and worked intensively on developing a service specification and a new working model for the project, to provide a service specifically focussed on the needs of the clients. The Poor Servants of the Mother of God generously agreed that one of their premises, could be used to provide the base for this new project. The building has been newly refurbished to provide up to thirty-two beds in eight ‘cluster’ style flats. Each cluster has its own self-contained kitchen and shared communal space. The layout is flexible and can cater for a range of needs. At the heart of the building is a newly developed training suite providing structured programmes, workshops and ad hoc training sessions. There are also plans for a full commercial kitchen that will double as a ‘training kitchen’ to provide practical experience and a real qualification for those wishing to get qualified in basic level catering. Caseworkers, the majority of whom are fluent in Eastern European languages, will work with each individual referred to the service to agree a specific and achievable employment goal.

AIC Members Hold Assembly in Mexico

Vincenti an Family members joined over 2,000 Catholic migrants living and working in London at a special Mass for Migrants in Westminster Cathedral on Monday, 4 May. The Mass refl ected the tremendous diversity of London’s Catholic community, with music from across the globe. A number of dignitaries, including the Lord Mayor of Westminster and Ambassadors from EU and other countries also att ended the Mass. As the Cardinal was unwell, the chief celebrant was Bishop Thomas McMahon, Bishop of Brentwood and the Homily given by Bishop Pat Lynch, Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark. This will be the fourth Mass for Migrants to have been organised jointly by the Diocese of Westminster, the Archdiocese of Southwark and the Diocese of Brentwood and supported by their Justi ce and Peace Commissions. Aft er the Mass, many of the congregati on walked to Trafalgar Square as part of the “Strangers Into Citi zens” campaign, which is calling for a one-off regularisati on of long term irregular migrants in the UK who want to legally work and contribute to life in the UK as full members of our society.

www.strangersintociti zens.org.uk

Every two years, AIC holds an Internati onal Assembly and this year it took place in Mexico City. The main topic was Systemic Change (which is currently the common theme uniti ng all members of the Vincenti an Family) and we were very fortunate that Fr. Bob Maloney was able to give us his inspirati onal talk: “Ten Seeds of Systemic Change in the Life of St Vincent”. Many of you will already have had the privilege of hearing this talk in London last year. It is impossible to sum up in just a few words what Fr. Bob said, but the idea which struck me most was the fact that, in systemic change, our love has to be eff ecti ve as well as aff ecti ve. In other words, if you take the example of the Good Samaritan, it is not just a questi on of binding up the traveller’s wounds - we must also make sure that the road between Jerusalem and Jericho is safe for all travellers. During the Assembly, there were a number of workshops to reinforce the initi al talk, as well as meeti ngs to discuss our plans for the coming years. With members of AIC Associati ons gathering from all over the world (AIC has almost a quarter of a million members in 53 countries), it was the ideal opportunity to share ideas and to learn from one another. Christi ne Crump and I (Marlene Burt) were there representi ng AIC UK.

“Rooted in the Soil of my Being ...”VMP Retreat at Wistaston Hall, Crewe

Petition for Compassion and Justice

New Faces at the VMP Offi ce

At 8.33pm in the House of Commons on 29th April 2009, Rt Hon John Batt le MP (Leeds, West) (Lab), seen left , presented the Vincenti an Family Peti ti on to Parliament. Here is the text of his speech, taken from Hansard:“I am presenti ng a peti ti on that calls on Parliament to ensure that asylum seekers in the UK receive fair and compassionate treatment. It has been drawn up and collected by the Vincenti an Millennium Partnership. It is supported by more than 11,000 people throughout the length and breadth of Britain. It details a number of diffi culti es that we all know are faced by asylum seekers coming into the UK, including their being prevented from seeking work, levels of poverty and long periods of detenti on, all of which make their everyday lives extremely diffi cult. The peti ti on states:The Peti ti oners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for the Home Department to ensure that those entering our country seeking asylum are treated in a just and compassionate manner which honours the long-standing Briti sh traditi on of treati ng newcomers to these islands with welcome, respect and fairness; and further urges the Secretary

of State to seek to enshrine in the Borders, Citi zenship and Immigrati on Bill the rights of asylum seekers to adequate housing, ESOL (English as a Secondary Language) Classes, Criminal Records Bureau checks, earn a wage and contribute to taxes, engage in voluntary work, integrate into local communiti es, and become valued citi zens of the UK.”

Representati ves of the Brothers of Charity Services in England, the Brothers of Charity in Belgium (through the Internati onal Insti tute Canon Triest) and professors from the Catholic University of America met recently at the Brothers facility at Lisieux Hall, Chorley, Lancs to review their current joint training/educati on project for student Brothers from

Brothers of Charity Meet to Review Student Trainingthe developing world. As menti oned in a previous newslett er a number of students, mainly from Africa and Asia, come for part of their Internship each year to the Brothers

of Charity Services in the North West of England. The meeti ng served to establish closer working relati onships between the Catholic University and

the new personnel from the Brothers of Charity who will be involved in the project going forward. They also discussed ways in which their co-operati on could become even more eff ecti ve as well as looking at opportuniti es for co-operati on in other areas especially in using the various kinds of experti se and commitment available.

The weekend 8-10 May saw 28 members of the Vincenti an Family gathered in the Oblate Retreat Centre at Wistaston Hall, Crewe for a special retreat . The family branches represented were: The Brothers of Charity, the Company of Mission Priests, the Society of St Vincent d Paul, the Daughters of Charity, the Vincenti an Volunteers and Friends of the Family.

It was a wonderful weekend during which the retreatants looked at all the components which make up the rich soil of their being: Self, Family & Friends, God, Prayer and Refl ecti on, the Scriptures, Work and the Vincenti an Traditi on. They also recognised that life is a journey - a journey of transformati on refl ecti ng upon many of the signifi cant events in the life of St Vincent de Paul which had parallels in their own experience. Besides creati ng ti me and space for prayer and refl ecti on, the retreat also provided the group with the opportunity to relax, enjoy the beauti ful surroundings, share

wonderful meals, celebrate Eucharist together and grow in Vincenti an friendship. Another highlight of the retreat was the social night with its interacti ve bingo and beetle drive and its sing-a-long with John Reed on guitar.

Since it began nine years ago the task of running the VMP has fallen on the shoulders of its Director, helped and supported by volunteers . The trustees of the VMP, representi ng all branches of the Family, have long realised that the VMP needs a proper infrastructure if it is to conti nue growing and being of service to the Vincenti an Family. In April two new members of staff were recruited and employed: Emily Casson as a full-ti me Policy and Campaigns Co-ordinator and Sr Teresa Ryden RSCJ as a part-ti me Administrator. If you are in contact with the offi ce say hello to them and tell them about your branch of the Family and what you do.

Photo L to R: Emily, Sr Maureen DC and Sr Teresa RSCJ