Refugee Welcome Homes

Justice. Welcome. Partnership. Respect. Integrity.

Refugee Welcome Homes is a Community Interest Company (CIC) based in Bristol. Our mission is to reduce homelessness for refugees by bringing people with a spare room in their home together with refugees needing a place to call home. We provide ongoing support and signposting to landlords and lodgers to enable refugees to resettle in Bristol.

We believe that all people should have a place to call home.

Our core values are justice, welcome, partnership, respect and integrity and these provide the foundation for the ethos upon which we operate as a Christian CIC. We work with people of all faiths and none.

Refugee Welcome Homes has two projects: Refugee Lodgings Scheme and Homes for Ukraine Lodging Scheme.

Please click on the links below to find out more about each project.

Refugee Lodgings Scheme

Homes for Ukraine/Ukraine Lodgings Scheme

Quotes from our landlords and lodgers at Refugee Welcome Homes

Landlord A

RWH has been very good for me; you have provided thoughtful support which has been running in the background and which has been available at any time I asked for it. You have matched me with someone who is good in my house, and it has been an all-round success in terms of being able to share an unused room and make some money.

Landlord B

I am a landlord for refugee welcome homes and I’ve found the whole experience very positive. RWH staff have been friendly and helpful and knowledgeable and have made the whole process very easy. They did a great job in matching a lodger with me and the placement is going well and RWH have been very supportive.

I have every confidence in RWH as I think they do a great job and provide and amazing service to both lodger and landlord/lady.

Lodger A

I’ve had a truly wonderful experience with Refugee Welcome Homes. They helped me find affordable housing through their lodging scheme and supported me at every stage. As a refugee new to the country, it was overwhelming to figure out how to find a place to live and understand tenant rights, but Refugee Welcome Homes made it so much easier by providing the support and information I needed. I’ve been in my current home for over a year now, and even though I haven’t had any issues, they still check in regularly to see how I’m doing, which means so much to me. Additionally, I feel confident that when it’s time to look for a new place, I’ll be able to handle the process and find the best option, thanks to the skills and knowledge I gained with their help.

Lodger B

Finding somewhere to live was incredibly tough, but RWH was truly a miracle for us. Having a place that we could finally call home was invaluable. After a year and a half, we finally feel a sense of comfort and can focus on more important things in life instead of just fighting to survive.

Finding a home in Bristol is extremely difficult, so being offered a place through RWH was such a huge blessing. You did everything you could to find us the best and safest place possible, and even before and after the move, you kept checking in to make sure we were okay and comfortable. That meant so much to us.

We are truly grateful for this beautiful home and our amazing landlord.

Could you be a landlord to a refugee?

Discussion with Ahmed about Refugee Welcome Homes

Spare room?

We are currently looking for people who live in Bristol who have a spare room they would like to rent out to a refugee or Ukrainian lodger.

Refugees can face many barriers when it comes to trying to find accommodation, making it often almost impossible for refugees to rent privately in Bristol apart from unsuitable overcrowded and overpriced rentals. By connecting people in Bristol who want to rent out a room in their house and a refugee lodger, Refugee Welcome Homes aims to work with the people of Bristol to change refugee homelessness and make this a real city of sanctuary for refugees.

We have two programmes: our Homes for Ukraine Lodging scheme and our Refugee Lodgings scheme. Please check out the pages for these on this site and complete a referral/contact form online to express an interest. This doesn't commit you to anything but is a great way to start a conversation. Why not get started today?

Our contact email address is support@refugeewelcomehomes.net

Please donate to Refugee Welcome Homes

Refugee Welcome Homes relies solely on donations and grants to run the refugee lodgings scheme (although we are funded by Bristol City Council to support hosts under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and our Ukraine Lodgings scheme).

If you don't have a room to rent, but would still like to support our work financially, then please do consider donating either regularly or as a one-off gift. To donate, please click the button on the right 👉...

Please donate - Thank you!

Our Values

Justice

We want to see a world that is fair, equitable and accessible for everyone and we want to be part of making this happen. Getting involved in Refugee Welcome Homes means getting involved in making real justice for refugees in our city by welcoming refugees into your home and community.

We will promote a culture of justice in all our relationships both internally and externally. We will lead by example and we will actively promote justice.

Welcome

We believe that a warm welcome can make a huge difference in a refugee's life when they are far from home. Making room in our homes for refugees and giving them space to grow in confidence and get back on their feet enables them to thrive in a new country and culture. We are also committed to learning from other cultures and curating intercultural spaces of welcome together.

In addition, welcome is all about relationships; how we treat one another. We will be generous with one another, treating each other and those we connect with in a friendly, kind, welcoming and caring way.

Partnership

We are committed to working in partnership both with our refugee lodgers, our landlords and other agencies. We believe in collaborative work with the wider Bristol refugee sector, knowing that we are stronger when we work together. We commit to be accountable to those we work with.

We thrive when we recognise one another’s strengths. To us, partnership and collaboration mean 'listening and evolving together, helping and supporting each other for the sake of a collective goal’.

Respect & Integrity

We want to always do the right thing, in an honest, respectful and responsible way, practicing honesty in a consistent and uncompromising manner, respecting every individual’s human rights and privacy and eliminating all kinds and forms of discrimination.

We also want to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all at Refugee Welcome Homes as an important part of giving respect.

Our funders