A TALK will take place in Settle next week looking at the possibility of welcoming a refugee family to North Craven.

Sean Ryan MBE, co-ordinator of the national Caritas Community Sponsorship will talk at the event on Wednesday organised by Settle and District Churches Together’s Justice and Peace group.

Rev Stephen Dawson, chairman of the justice and peace group, said: “Community sponsorship is an opportunity to help a refugee family build a home and a stable life in the UK. “Community sponsors can be formed from a wide range of groups with a simple desire to help, including faith groups, local charities and community businesses.”

The Community Sponsor group helps refugee families to become self-sufficient, members of their new community.

It means meeting the family at the airport, becoming their friend and helping them to settle, supporting them to learn English and to access medical and social services.

Speaker, Sean Ryan will explain how moving to a new environment can be unsettling, especially for those who have been forced to flee their homes.

“Community sponsorship is a way for the whole of civil society to be directly involved in helping refugees settle in the UK, providing emotional and practical support,” he said. “ Being a sponsor can also bring enormous benefit to the local community, through harnessing the generosity of people, and creating new bonds between different groups to bring positive changes to people’s lives - the new family are themselves a gift to the area.”.

Mr Ryan’s home of Flixton in Greater Manchester, was the first parish to be approved by the Home Office to sponsor a refugee family.

It is now being repeated across the country in both town and rural settings.

Next week’s talk, which will be held at the parish hall of St Mary and St Michael, is one of a series organised by the Settle Justice and Peace group on the subject of communities supporting refugees.

In April Maggie Bruno from the Bentham Refugee Support Group spoke about how the group regularly provided weekend breaks for refugees. Her talk covered some myth busting, an overview of the asylum process, her work as a refugee caseworker with the Red Cross in Bradford, and how people can get involved.

Sean Ryan’s talk at St Mary and St Michael Parish Hall, Tillman Close, Craven Terrace on Wednesday, June 13 will start at 7.30pm. In July, Marian McNichol is due to talk about the ‘building the sanctuary everywhere’ movement and how Settle Quakers are hoping to become involved in supporting housing for the destitute.