Refugees at Home (RaH) first came to Travers Smith as a group of individuals and has, with our help, become a charitable organisation that connects those with a spare room in their home with asylum seekers and refugees in need of accommodation.
The Travers Smith Foundation was its first cash donor in 2016, and since then, our committed and fantastic team of lawyer and Business Services colleagues have helped provide extensive advice and other assistance critical for the charity's development and success.
From a standing start in late 2015, with just two or three host families, RaH has grown exponentially. Since it began formally operating in February 2016, RaH has since provided over 195,000 nights of free accommodation to vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers from over 65 different countries.
We are incredibly proud to partner with RaH to support their invaluable work with some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
“It is a real privilege for us to have supported the set-up of Refugees at Home and for us to continue to partner with them on a daily basis, contributing to the charity’s crucial work helping refugees and asylum-seekers. Taking on the project was initially daunting and often required (and still does) our lawyers to operate outside of their comfort zone. The hard work has paid off though and we are immensely proud of what is being achieved”.
Daniel Gerring, Travers Smith Partner and Board Member and host for Refugees at Home
"I don't know how Refugees at Home could ever have got started and flourished so quickly without the superb, pro bono help from the team at Travers Smith. We have now made countless placements of asylum-seekers and refugees, who have recently obtained status, with generous hosts who offer warm, dry, safe accommodation, many meals, company and often help with adjusting to British life and the English language."
Sara Nathan OBE, Director at Refugees at Home