| AdminHistory | Formerly the 'Sheffield Branch of Refugee Action' or 'Refugee Action Sheffield'. Refugee Action was a national organisation, founded in Oct 1981 to respond to the arrival of refugees from Vietnam ('Vietnamese boat people'), some of whom arrived in the UK in the early 1980s.
Refugee Action Sheffield (known as the Northern Refugee Centre from 1 Apr 1986) opened in May 1983 as a direct response to the needs of refugees from Vietnam who had been resettled in and around Sheffield. It grew to include other refugee groups and asylum seekers and covered a wider geographical area. The offices were based on Jew Lane off Fitzalan Square, Sheffield.
The idea of opening a Centre dated back to the early part of 1981. Vietnamese refugees has been resettled in Sheffield since the end of 1979 and little local provision (as in other areas) had been made. This had resulted in inadequate education and housing provision. The aims, therefore, were to establish a Centre which would offer advice, education, training and recreation facilities and, in so doing, provide a training ground where Vietnamese people could work together towards self-administration and development of their own community.
Funding was sought but one year later, the necessary money had not been found. By this time, many more Vietnamese people had arrived in the area. By Apr 1983 sufficient grants had been received to operate for 6 months and, within weeks, premises were rented and the Centre opened. The Centre's Director (and Founder) Michael Seear, ran the programme on a voluntary basis with the help of four Vietnamese 'Community Programme' workers. The emphasis during the first six months was on casework. This presented some difficulties - the relationship between refugees from the North and South of Vietnam was strained and, with this in mind, the programme was designed to attract all users into combined activities. 'Mixed' Committees were elected and the Centre adopted a 'mixed' worker policy.
The Centre later broadened it's commitment to include non-Vietnamese refugees and asylum seekers, covering a much wider area spanning from Nottingham to Middlesbrough. In addition to Vietnamese people, the Centre started to deal regularly with refugees from Chile, Somalia, Iran, Libya and Namibia, as well as asylum-seekers and refugees from other countries.
The Centre later moved premises, firstly to premises on Carver Street [1990s] and later to Scotia Works, Leadmill Road, Sheffield where it remained until closure in 2016.
Sheffield became the UK's first City of Sanctuary for asylum-seekers and refugees in 2007.
It was reported in Dec 2015 that the Northern Refugee Centre (NRC) had been trying to fill a £150,000 funding gap since the summer and the organisation closed in Jan 2016. Although the organisation itself was not retained, its key services (and some advice workers) were transferred to other agencies (such as the Citizens Advice Bureau).
Information sources: Northern Refugee Centre: Regional Strategy, Jul 1988; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-35100075 (accessed Aug 2022). |
| Description | Copy Trust Deed, Northern Refugee Centre, 1986 (NRC/1)
Correspondence files, minutes, internal reports, information sheets and other papers created as part of the day-to-day administration of the Northern Refugee Centre, 1981 - 2002 (NRC/2)
Accounts/finance:
Statements of account, 1983 - 1998 (NRC/3/1)
Financial statements (audited), 1984 - 1999 (NRC/3/2)
Notebooks of funding appeals and applications, 1984 - 1991 (NRC/3/3)
Funder files [a sample selection], 1983 - 1995 (NRC/3/4)
Newsletters, 1986 - 1987 (NRC/4)
Miscellaneous items, [mid-1980s - 1995] (NRC/5) |
| CustodialHistory | These items were created by the Northern Refugee Centre (formerly Refugee Action Sheffield), Sheffield between 1981-2002. They were donated to Sheffield City Archives by Diane Gascoyne, Information Worker at the NRC, across 11 separate accessions between 1997-2009. |