Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC)
The UASC Programme is an initiative commissioned by Wiltshire Council and launched by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust in August 2019 in partnership with The Harbour Project in Swindon, working with children under the age of 18 who have fled their country of origin, without the care or protection of their parents, and are seeking asylum.
UASC young people live in a range of settings, in a Foster family, in supported lodgings or living independently, both within and outside Wiltshire. The project aims to build up a sense of community through team building activities, sharing of new experiences and creating a supportive environment for them whenever they meet.
The programme seeks to engage asylum seekers and refugees aged from 14 to 25 in differing styles of Events, Activities and green prescription activity groups. Events may include Day Trips to locations like Stonehenge or Longleat and are aimed at enabling the Young People to see the beauty of Wiltshire and absorb its history and culture. Activities could be a chance to play in a football tournament or do drama workshops. The green prescription groups work with small groups of young people and use forest school and nature based activities to help the young people cope with the stress and some of the trauma they have experienced.
Young people can also attend a Residential with Youth Action Wiltshire and this will offer outward bound activities and opportunities for the young people to build positive relationships with staff, make friends and develop independent living skills.
The Harbour Project are a partner in this programme and will offer support in areas like: understanding the immigration system, rights and responsibilities of UASC, British laws, housing options, career guidance and language study.
This programme is open to any Wiltshire UASC young person and activities are run across the county. If you would like to know any further information about the programme, please contact Ali Nott on alin@wiltshirewildlife.org or call her on 07849 089875
