Foreword

During my time as Chairman of Iranian Community Center (ICC), ICC experienced many significant challenges, including severe cuts in government funding. What stands out and continues to make the ICC special is its strong commitment to providing high quality assistance to our clients and the dedication and commitment of its staff. Good advice can transform the lives of those who seek protection here; many have fled persecution, some have experienced torture or rape, or have been abused.  The system for determining whether they can stay in the UK can be harsh. .The quality of the ICC‘s work helps to achieve a just outcome for many. This enables our clients to work and support themselves earlier as well as to integrate more quickly into their new communities.

Despite the outstanding value that our efficient high quality service brings, cuts of around 30 per cent or more in legal aid over the next year will put that quality at risk.  We tried to diversify our funding to help safeguard our independence and deliver our wider mission. Our clients are at the heart of everything we do. Everyone who works at the ICC is passionate about providing a free and high quality service to our client. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Co-coordinator, Mr. Ali , the staff and volunteers for their consistent work and the serious commitment to ICC. Had it not been for such a loyal attitude, we would not have achieved such great success. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our founders.

Mohammad Hoshi

Annual Report

Co-ordinator’s Report

According to Home Office Statistics 23,430 people applied for asylum in 2007. Iranian national was the fourth after Afghanistan, Iraq and Zimbabwe. From January to March 2008 about 580 Iranians applied for asylum (193 applications per month).  Inevitably the number of people seeking advice, guidance or support from ICC has also risen in the past year reflecting Home Office’s statistics, regardless of a reduction in our budget.

In order to provide an efficient service, ICC’s staffs have worked really hard and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their tremendous efforts. This also includes the hard work of the volunteers who were drafted in to assist in the work we do at ICC.  In the past year at least 3 – 5 volunteers have been working at ICC every week, some of whom have closely supported us in providing vital services to Iranian community. I would like to thank the management committee members for their hard work and their support. They have had attended monthly meeting to discuss ICC issues.

We have actively participated in various partnerships and public meetings in order to collaborate with other organisations in delivering a more efficient service to our clients and to raise the profile of ICC.

Fundraising:

We are involved in 2 large partnerships (BAN & Works for Me) made up of more than 20 organisations. The BAN partnership put an application to London Council for advice and information for refugees and the application is under investigation. If the application is successful we will receive half of the grant that we used to receive from London Councils. Unfortunately the London Councils have reduced the amount of grant they used to provide for refugee organisations. We received funds from ACBBA, ITN and RWA (refugee women association for) for partnership projects. We also made successful applications to the London Councils (LC), Awards for All, Capital Radio, Barnet Council and Islington Council.

Immigration Services

The rapid changes in immigration laws have had an adverse affect on our clients which made our work very difficult. A growth in quantity as well as quality of our work required a great deal of reorganisation and planning. While the pressure of working with destitute asylum seekers without benefits left us with little choice but to respond to the immediate and growing needs of our clients  such as immigration, health, housing, education, legal and other related issues. In the past year 3230 Farsi speakers visited ICC’s Offices for advice and information on various issues. Our Immigration and Advice Case Workers dealt not only with immigration advice work but also welfare issues ranging from reading clients letters to making telephone calls on their behalf.

The growing intensity of our work was accompanied by an enormous amount of telephone advice, out reach work, interpreting and advocacy services. In the past year we received over 4713 telephone calls for advice and information.

Welfare Services

Our casework activities have included interviewing clients; registering them and providing a file for them, follow up work, referrals, networking with other agencies, advocacy and representation. This has involved providing interpreting, translating and advocacy services for our newly arrived clients as well as those with special needs. We provide these services at our Islington and Barnet offices.

Statistical Information for our Main Office

01/04/07 to 31/03/08

• Total number of cases, including visitors, follow ups                      6100

      and telephone enquiries and advice.

Breakdown of Services

• Number of visitors (one to one advice)                                         2346    
• Number of advices to none clients                                                381
• Number of telephone enquiries and advice                                    3373

Breakdown of Services on Category Basis

·         Immigration                                                                                          27%

·         Citizenship                                                                                            19%

·         Welfare                                                                                                19%     

·         Housing                                                                                                7%

·         Education                                                                                             5%

·         Health                                                                                                  2%

·         Women Issues                                                                                      6%

·         Business Advice                                                                                    5%

·         Others                                                                                                  10%                                                                                                                

Judging by the figures above, the Home Office’s dispersal policy has not reduced our overall level of work and our clients. This has been due to firstly, the lack of proper legal representations for Iranians and Farsi speakers outside London. Secondly, some asylum seekers whose asylum claims were refused endeavoured to peruse their appeal in London. Finally another contributing factor to the large number of people seeking assistance from ICC is down to the poor performance of the National Asylum Support Services (NASS); our cases reveal a worrying level of problems with NASS support.

Barnet Office

Our office at Barnet used to be open 2 days a week relying on volunteers. Since we recruited a paid part time caseworker it is now open 3 days a week (Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays from 9.30 to 5.30). We provide similar services to our clients at this office as we do at our main office in Islington.

We work closely with local voluntary and statutory organisations in Barnet and the neighbouring boroughs in order to respond to the needs of our community in their process of re-settlement. 

Statistical Information for the Barnet office

2007-2008

• Total number of cases, including visitors, follow ups                                  1690

      and telephone enquiries and advice.

• Total number of visitors (one to one advice)                                               680
• Total number of telephone advice                                                            1010

Breakdown of actions on category basis

• Immigration                                                                                           24%
• Welfare                                                                                                  22%    
• Housing                                                                                                  16%
• Education                                                                                                 5%   
• Women Issues & family matters                                                                5%    
• Translation                                                                                               5%
• Health                                                                                                     4%
• Citizenship                                                                                                3%
• Debt & Bank                                                                                              5%
• Legal                                                                                                        5%     
• Others                                                                                                    7%   

Voluntary Project for Refugee Children

It is down to the huge efforts of our registered volunteers who run the activities that make it possible to flourish and become the popular venture it is here at ICC. The following is a brief summary of what the project has done;

Advice and Support

The project has over 250 clients from the age of 5 to 19 years old. Over the last 12 months we provided the following services and activities:

·         Enrolled students at primary school, secondary school and colleges pan London.

·         Completed students’ applications for free school meals and bus passes for those who were qualified to benefit from such services.

·         Appeal for school placements and advocating on behalf of students.

·         Advised students and parents on the education in England and help them to find the suitable schools for their children.

·         Completed transfer forms to secondary schools.

·         Advised students to find the right course at colleges and help them to complete application forms.

·         Provided telephone advice

Activities

·         Celebrated the Iranian New Year for the children of Saturday School.

·         Celebrating Yalda Party and Christmas Party for the children.

·         Set up self-defence classes for children aged 8 to 15 years old.

·         Set up a volleyball team.

·         Set up Iranian GCSE & A Level in Farsi.

·         Organised after school club activities every Saturdays.

·         

Saturday School (Samad Behrangi School)

The Saturday School was 15 years old this year. The school is another of our successful projects. A team of 10 experienced teachers and staff teach Farsi language to about 100 pupils, from the age of 4 to 17 years old. Samad Behrangi School is now an Examination Centre for Farsi GCSE and A Level. At our Farsi school apart from teaching Farsi, we provide after school club activities to children and we encourage, promote and uphold traditional values in the Iranian culture such as celebrating the Iranian New Year.

(Business Advice Unit (BAU

Business Advice is another of ICC’s many projects. Working in partnership with Association of Community Based Business Advice (ACBBA) we aim to help Iranian refugees to set-up their own businesses, turning their own ideas into realities and to become financially successful in the labour market and business field. BAU works closely with a team of community business advisors covering 25 Islington, Camden and Lewisham community organisations.

BAU provides services such as one to one advice sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays, helping clients in preparing their CVs and business plans, market research, advertisement, financial planning, cash flow and legal advice. In addition, a business start-up group has been developed in order to help clients to accomplish their goals more effectively. This is achieved by mutual support and guidance from one another and the sharing of experiences and challenges faced. At the same time this improves their English language and helps them overcome the isolation that any individual faces when starting their own business.

BAU managed to establish a good networking with other organisations such as;

Street Creed, Account 3, Chamber of Commerce, Department of Trade and Industry, Wise Owls, HBV Enterprise and Bootstrap Enterprise.

BAU has provided advice and information for 280 refugees and non refugees as follows:

• Held one hour appointments for initial advice.
• Given in depth advice to help clients in developing their own business plans.
• Self-assessment for self employment.
• Organised seminars and workshops on start up businesses, marketing, cash flow and raising finance or making funding applications.

• Provided a data base on raising finance such as grants or business loans
• Helped customers in preparing their CV
  

Social Club for Older People

It is about 30 years that Iranians experiencing mass immigration. The middle age and young people who left Iran 30 years ago are growing old and we face an older population of Iranians and Farsi speaker whose demands are totally different from the new comers. Most of these people did not expect a long period of exile but the reality is different.  The language barrier and cultural differences, loneliness, and many other problems made us to organise a social club for our older beneficiaries. In the past year we have been able to provide a session of social club for older people every Friday afternoon.

Interpreting and Advocacy Services

The adverse effect of changes to the Immigration and Asylum Acts has increased the need for interpreting and advocacy services at ICC.  For those clients in detention, applying as an in-country applicants or facing refusals, our interpreting and advocacy services have been essential tools to challenge negative outcomes of the decisions made by the Home Office, clarifying ambiguities and securing access to the clients benefits and the basic provisions available to them.

We are very fortunate to have a team of professional, committed and experienced interpreters who are fully familiar with the situations faced by Iranian asylum seekers and refugees and are skilled in delivering an extremely valuable service to our clients.

During the year our interpreters have accompanied clients to Immigration Departments, legal agencies, Local Authorities, Benefit Agencies and health authorities. They provided interpretation and advocacy for 75 clients; some of whom have multiple cases, but mostly newly arrived asylum-seekers without benefit entitlements, and those with special needs.

The Centre Library

Yet again with the help of extremely committed volunteers, the ICC’s library continues to be an invaluable resource to all Iranians. Despite the challenge caused by a fire incident at the centre, we have managed to expand and develop the library. We now have a computerised cataloguing system placed in the library. There are more than 3500 Farsi books in the library.

The Library is open to the public for two days a week on Mondays and Wednesdays and provides our clients, members, services users and the general public with an opportunity to use the large resources of books, newspapers and Iranian films.  We receive books mainly through donations. This year 100 books were donated to us by our members and we purchased 1000 new books from Iran. We have also set up a new archive system in the library of Iranian films made in Iran and elsewhere.

New Years Celebration

Norouz is the Iranian New Year and of the most celebrated days in the Iranian calendar. ICC this year celebrated Norouz with Iranian music and traditional food at The Conway Hall in Holborn. The occasion was attended by over 400 people and presented an excellent opportunity for ICC members, clients and non-Iranian friends to meet and enjoy the festivities together. After the dinner, music and dancing continued well into the night!

Iranian New Year Celebration

Summer Trip 

This year’s summer daytrip was held in Eastbourne in August, which was enjoyed, by 45 of our service users.

Summer Trip to Brighton

IRANIAN COMMUNITY CENTRE

DETAILED INCOME & EXPENDITURE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2008

Staff and Volunteers                                                            Directors

Ali Shirazi                                                                                Mohammad Hooshi

Morad Azimi                                                                            Simin Azimi

Sima Azad                                                                               Tahmineh Gashtasebi

Simin Jahangiri                                                                        Shahram Shahedi