Croydon Voluntary Action has a strong track record of supporting refugees, asylum seekers and those from new communities living and working in Croydon.
In 2018, we received funding from Comic Relief and the Mayor of London to run our highly successful programme, ‘We Stand Together’ which used sport as a tool to engage refugees and asylum seekers, improve their physical and mental health and support their integration in wider community life.
Achievements and learning from the programme can be seen in the videos below.
Alongside the sports programme, CVA established the Croydon Refugee and New Communities Forum, involving over 40 refugee organisations. The Forum developed its own research and an Action Plan to improve the experiences of refugees in Croydon and strengthen migrant voices and is now independent from CVA.
In 2021 and 2022 we were funded by the Maudsley Trust to increase our specific support for refugees and asylum seekers who have experienced mental health issues, arising from their often traumatic experiences of seeking asylum in the UK and ongoing ordeal of the immigration process.
We are currently delivering a number of sports programmes including football at Thornton Health Recreation ground, Winterbourne Road, CR7 7RX (Wednesday 2-3.30pm) and multisports and Thai Boxing at our Active Communities Hub, Centrale Shopping Centre (Thursday 2-4pm)
We have been partnered by local community organisations, many specialising in mental health, many attending the sports sessions to build relationships with participants. Other partners specialise in immigration, accommodation, education and employment advice – all of which are part of the wider determinants of health that impact on our participants.
We have also extended our Activator programme, which identifies those with lived experience who want to volunteer in supporting the programme, planning and delivering activities, welcoming new participants and developing case studies.
If you are interested in becoming an Activator, want to volunteer or just want to participate please contact: