The aim of the Welcome Project is to welcome new asylum seekers to the City of Portsmouth and signpost them to sources of help and advice, including to the linked Action Asylum project.

Arrivals are given a re-usable Welcome Bag containing a ‘Welcome to Portsmouth’ greetings card with local information, essential toiletries and a few treats. The contents of the Bag vary by family composition and whether living in hotel or community settings.

In the financial year 2023-24, 180 Bags were provided to individuals and families across the Portsmouth and Gosport areas.

In addition to the Welcome Bags, the Project also collects and distributes donations of clothes and other items. This enables us to hold monthly free clothes markets at the All Saints Refugee Hub and less frequently (particularly since its ongoing renovation) at the Hotel. We also provide clothing to St Margaret’s Clothing Bank, giving direct access for our clients as well as local residents, and reconditioned school clothes to HIVE for their City-wide school uniform share.

The Welcome Bags contain information about the many services provided at the Portsmouth City of Sanctuary weekly Refugee Hub, including opportunities to volunteer with PCoS or other local organisations. One such asylum-seeker (quoted below) regularly assists the Welcome Project with the monthly clothing markets, including the renovation of donated shoes.

The delivery of Welcome Bags also gives volunteers a chance to visit client accommodation and respond to urgent requests for items such as household equipment and bedding, directly or by referral to partner agencies such as the Moving On Project Portsmouth. It also offers a chance to get to know the families and their situations. Client feedback indicates that it is not just the contents of the bag that are welcomed, but also the fact of the visit itself.

One woman commented “It’s not the value of the goods in the Bag, but the value of being welcomed. The feeling is wonderful when someone knocks on the door. For the first time, since arriving, we felt that we might get a nice future.”

In all of its work, the Welcome Project benefits significantly from the practical support generously provided by Big Yellow Self Storage.