Volunteer Host: Do you have a spare room? Could you host a refugee?

Refugees at Home connects people with a spare room to refugees and people seeking asylum in need of somewhere to stay.

We don’t think people who come to the UK for sanctuary should end up on the streets. Our vision is for every refugee and every person seeking asylum to have a safe place to stay.  

We recruit and support volunteer hosts who are willing to offer a temporary home and a helping hand. Each placement is different, and the length of hosting can vary from a few nights to several months and anything in between. Hosts decide how long they would like to host for.

Hosting is entirely altruistic, provided by amazing volunteer hosts. 

We are looking for new hosts with a spare room or two, or even a sofa bed, in Norwich that are well connected and have good public transport systems. This enables our guests to travel to college, school, support groups or jobs, and retain their independence.

We support you through every step of your hosting journey.

Before a guest is placed with you, one of our home visitors will meet with you to offer advice, look at the accommodation being offered, and answer any questions you have about hosting.

Our Placement team stay in contact with you throughout the placement and are available seven days a week if you have any questions or problems.

As the UK’s largest independent hosting charity, we also have a wealth of information and guidance on our website and our monthly newsletter.

Here are some quotes from previous hosts:

-         "There are so few times you can do something practical to help. Hosting Refugees felt like a practical thing to do." Sarah, Host.

-         "If you are thinking of hosting, you should go for it because if you can even help for a month or even less, you are still doing someone an enormous favour.” Julian, Host

-         "Once we took the step to open our home, it became the most natural thing in the world.” Rachel, Host.

And the impact that hosting has on guests:

-         "Thinking back I would like to thank Refugees at Home for Helping me to get safe accommodation with a lovely family in 2016, Imagine if I said I am homeless and cold when my mum called back then. Instead I was safe and warm and surrounded with love and laughter with my hosts." Guest