Refugees Welcome Northern Ireland – Matching offers of accommodation from locals in Northern Ireland with refugees.

We want to make refugees welcome in Northern Ireland. You can play your part by offering to share your home with someone who needs a place to live.

Refugees Welcome Northern Ireland matches accommodation offers to refugees needing a home. It’s an opportunity for you to show solidarity to refugees in a very real and practical way.

How it works

We get in contact with you and and introduce you to a refugee wanting to be a guest. We'll support you to get to know each other.

Your guest moves in for an initial trial and if you are both happy stays for an agreed length of time.

Sign-up as host Sign-up as refugee How it works

Refugees Welcome Northern Ireland is a division of Refugees Welcome International. Refugees Welcome was founded in 2015 by a group of young people in Berlin – who wanted to do something practical to help refugees. They are also supporting and mentoring similar projects being set-up in Canada, Austria, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Poland, Italy and beyond.

Help us share the word about Refugees Welcome Northern Ireland.

We need your help to reach potential hosts.

Refugees Welcome Northern Ireland is not affiliated to any political party. We support and allocate accommodation based on need. We do not discriminate based on the status of the refugee or based on country of origin and certainly not based on religion.

Funds

Refugees Welcome is a volunteer led service.

If you would like to support our work with a donation of funds please get in contact.

Donate funds

Time

We are looking for people to get involved in our project as volunteers. We are getting up and running and there’s lots of work to do. There are also opportunities to support refugees in other ways by donating some of your time.

Donate time

We're making progress

Refugees Welcome projects are springing up across Europe and so far have placed over 400 refugees in homes.

Although there is a focus on refugees right now, this is an ongoing situation which demands an ongoing response. The difficulty and discrimination faced by refugees and asylum seekers will not go away when their stories disappear from the headlines, or if/when the current Syrian refugee crisis subsides.

The 400+ refugees who were connected with homes in Europe are from: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, India, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine.

We know that people in N. Ireland have a lot to offer too! Sign-up as a host, a volunteer, or donate and help us connect refugees with welcoming homes.

1. Sign up as a host

Sign up as a host and share some information about yourself and your accommodation.There is no commitment expected from you at this point, until a match is firmed up.If your circumstances change or you change your mind we totally understand and no harm done.

2. Match host and guest

We get in contact with you and confirm receipt of your offer. We signpost you to useful organisations who can help answer any detailed questions. We also encourage you to read our FAQs. We gather more details about your accommodation offer so we can find a suitable match. We set up a meeting over a cuppa between you and the potential guest. You both have chance to get to know each other.

3. Guest comes to stay

When both you and a guest are in agreement that it’s a good match, your guest moves in for a one week trial. You then continue to share accommodation for an agreed length of time, usually 3 months. If either of your decide sharing arrangement isn’t working, then guest will leave and Refugees Welcome will aim to match them to new accommodation.

Who can sign up as a host?

Anyone can sign up as host as long as you can offer a suitable room. This can be in your family home or a flat or house you share with friends. It can work if you own your home or if you’re renting your home from a landlord.

Does the host cover cost of rent?

Yes, you will need to cover the costs involved in providing accommodation to your guest which may include rent if you are a tenant.

How long does our guest live with us?

In order to avoid uncertainty for the guest, and given the administrative effort involved, we arrange placements for a period to be agreed but usually a minimum of 3 months. Initially there will be a trial week so both host and guest can get to know each other before they commit to the 3 month stay.

What if I can only offer accommodation for a very short period of time?

We need some hosts to act as back-up to cover emergency or temporary situations. So you can still get involved even if you can only offer accommodation for short periods of time for instance several days or several weeks.

What if I can offer a vacant apartment?

The principle aim of our project is to promote the experience of living together, but we are happy to forward your offer to another relevant organisation in the region.

Can I sign up if I can offer a place to sleep in our living room?

It is important that your guest lives in the same conditions as all of the other residents of your home. They need privacy, dignity and stability so we can only accept hosts offering a bedroom.

What do I need to be able to provide in order to offer accommodation?

You should have a spare bedroom in a flatshare or family home with a bed, wardrobe, desk, lamp, shared bathroom and living room, window, and heating.

What happens if we don’t get along?

Before you move in together, you and your future flatmate meet up and get to know each other and see how you get along. Should problems arise during the time of co-habitation, the same rules apply as with any other flatmate – you try and find a solution, if needed with our assistance. If it doesn’t work out, you can cancel the agreement.

Does the residence status of the refugee make difference?

All applications from potential hosts will be assessed and offered and prioritised based on need, regardless of their status.

Contact us

If you are a journalist and would like some more information or an interview, please contact: rwnorthernireland@gmail.com

Media Coverage

The founders of Refugees Welcome in Berlin have gathered together some of the international press and media coverage for you to view.

Press photos

We are looking for volunteers with media experience and interest to document events and promote Refugees Welcome Northern Ireland. Please get in contact if interested: rwnorthernireland@gmail.com

Northern Ireland RefugeesWelcome