How We Work
We work collaboratively with various services including Refugee Council, the Job Centre, Citizens Advice, health services, Hull City Council, Humberside Police and the voluntary sector as they recognise and support our services in providing advice, referrals, training; and promote our services to their user groups.
In addition, we are supported by a team of regular volunteers who work with us to build the capacity of our global majority communities so that they can develop some independence. In this way, we can increase the network of support for global majority groups and mobilise communities to work together to build a stronger, fairer; and a more cohesive and inclusive society.
Volunteering and Peer Support at the Heart of Our Work
At the core of H-CAS’s work is volunteering and peer support. This highlights a model of advice that prioritises lived-experience-based assistance over traditional, formal methods. This approach emphasizes community connection, mutual understanding, and personal empowerment to enhance well-being and integration.
Volunteers and peer support workers play a crucial and multi-faceted role in enhancing the reach, effectiveness, and authenticity of our organization. They complement professional services by offering unique perspectives, building trust, and increasing operational capacity.
Volunteering at H-CAS offers a vital pathway for individuals to gain skills, bridge experience gaps, and provide support to those in need.
Peer Support operates on principles of shared experience and empathy. It recognizes that shared journeys foster trust and mutual understanding.
H-CAS uses the Integration Star advice model
The Integration Star was designed for use with refugees needing support to integrate into their new country and to build a new life there. Completing the Integration Star is intended to be a helpful, engaging and empowering process that shows a client’s journey, stimulates and focuses discussion, providing a useful, shared basis for action or support plan.
It is a flexible tool that relies on the skills of the service provider using it, as well as on a degree of understanding and trust between them and the service user. The Star is designed to be used one to one; the aim is to have a genuine interaction and complete it collaboratively.
| Number | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Urgent needs |
| 2 | Support with urgent needs |
| 3 | Taking steps yourself |
| 4 | Finding your way |
| 5 | Self-reliant |
