AVID - Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees
Contact details
AVID - Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees
27-31 Carlton Road (postal address only – we mainly work remotely)
Nottingham
NG3 2DG
Public phone: 0207 281 0533
Email: enquiries@aviddetention.org.uk
Website URL: http://www.aviddetention.org.uk
General information
Service offered: We are a small, national charity that supports volunteer visitors to people in immigration detention, wherever they are held. We have 13 member groups that visit in every detention centre in the UK, and some prisons. We work to raise awareness of immigration detention and we advocate for positive change in the detention system. AVID's membership network comprises 13 visitors groups and organisations who visit across the UK, representing around 400 volunteer visitors, as well as many individual members, who give their time to befriend and support people being held in immigration detention. Our members visit in every detention centre and short term holding facility in the UK, as well as in a number of prisons. All visitors groups are independent, but work with AVID and each other to ensure that people detained across the UK have access to the emotional and practical support of a volunteer visitor, to share best practice, and to promote a collective voice for change based on people in detention’s real life experiences. We also support our membership(visitors groups) by providing training, advice, information and networking. Training - We develop and deliver a range of training for volunteer visitors on topical and current issues, equipping them with the skills to support detainees and to deal with the challenging situations they may encounter while volunteering. We deliver our own training, as well as working with expert partner organisations on our training programmes. Sessions regularly delivered to visitor groups include: Detention Policy and Practice; Working with vulnerable people; Unlawful detention and Access to healthcare and legal advice for detainees / Advice and Support - We provide ongoing support, advice and information to both established visitors groups and those in the process of setting up and running new groups. Visitors groups contact us regularly and we meet every month via our Members Calls. We also make regular outreach visits and support groups to work together to share experiences and address common issues and challenges / Information sharing and networking - We work to bring groups together to share ideas and information, network and work collaboratively on detention issues. This includes a range of events such as our annual Coordinators' Conference. We also produce a Handbook for Visitors which contains a wealth of information on detention policy and practice, guiding volunteers through the visiting process and giving background information on the experience of detention and visiting skills.
Target group: People held in immigration detention, volunteer visitor to immigration detainees, visitors groups.
Area served: UK.
How to contact: Phone (0207 281 0533) , email (enquiries@aviddetention.org.uk) . Open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
Availability
Monday: 9am-5pm
Tuesday: 9am-5pm
Wednesday: 9am-5pm
Thursday: 9am-5pm
Friday: 9am-5pm
Weekends: Closed
Office Hours:
Accessibility
Wheelchair access: Yes - full
Accessible toilets: -
Access notes: Yes to all of the above- Contact by phone, email or letter. Conferences and meetings held at accessible venues.
Other information
Languages other than English:
Charity number: 1063784
Year established: 1994
Staffing: 4 Full Time Staff, 6 Trustees
Public transport:
Record last checked: 24 July 2024