I work as a support worker for assylum seekers

[assuport]

I work as a support worker for assylum seekers, I'm currently based at a family hotel which means we have single female, couples, and couples with kids, we would also house single mum and kids. AMA

How long do most spend at that hotel? What do/can they do all day?
do the kids get an education?

My hotel opened in November last year and about 60 are from then. The idea is that they stay in one hotel until they have their claim accepted, however sometimes things happen and they move on- if they get to many warnings they get sent to a different hotel. All warnings are recorded on a system that the home office sees, and they do get questions about it all during their interview- or relationships break up, as we can't house single male in that situation he would be moved and if our safeguarding team things there's enough of a threat then the remaining family might also get moved to another location.

Honestly there isn't alot for them to do- most end up watching TV all day although we do also have some close friendships where they'll sit in the dinning room just chatting, sometimes they'll take a walk into town or go to church/religious groups.

All children of school and college age are enrolled into school and expected to attend. Once the adults have been in the country 6 months they are also able to enrol in an ESOL course. Theres not alot in way of provision for under 4/5 though

Thanks.
it sounds tough.

Do they get encouraged to get their vaccinations up to date ?

Is there a need or a way to help?
Thinking in terms of toys/products etc. Do they generally have everything they need?

What support is available to them? I am thinking that may of them will have experienced trauma etc.

@DustyLee123 for children/toddlers/any newborn then yes we try and follow the typical vaccine schedule

@YYouthinkyoureuniqueyourejustastatistic most arrive with nothing or very little- we have a small stash of clothes, otherwise we work with local charities (churches are the biggest help) they don't have any toys etc when they arrive so anything they end up with is donated- I would encourage to reach out to local charities they can help ensure that it gets distributed- it's like Christmas when we get a new supply of toys at the hotel!

@IImCamembertTheBigCheese truthfully not alot- we have a woman's counsellor come in once a week for one afternoon, she can only see 4-5 people a session. We have our own safeguarding/welfare check system in place to help flag up those we feel are struggling or need to place under extra watch but we aren't mental health experts. We also help with drs appointments for anyone that need additional support (meds etc) but they go through the same system as everyone else for booking a GP but with the added complication of alot need a translator and that doesn't always happen.

The community midwives in my area are very good at helping with the pregnant woman and their mental health though.