What is visiting?
What is visiting?
Volunteers visit people being held in immigration detention to provide support, practical advice and friendship. Each week, over 650 people across the UK visit people in detention.
Why visit?
People in detention often feel vulnerable, isolated and frightened. Some may have only recently arrived in the country, will not have any friends or family in the UK, and may speak little or no English. Others may have lived here for many years, or grown up in the UK.
Whatever someone's situation, being held in detention can be traumatic. The support of a visitor can make a huge difference.
Frequently, a visitor is the only person a detainee sees from outside, who is not an official. This relationship can often become a lifeline, as a visitor listens and cares, helping to reduce isolation.
“I am proud of what you have been doing for me. For all the times you visited me, for all the times you listened to me. For the time you saw me cry. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart”
Detainee visited by Friends without Borders (formerly Haslar Visitors Group)
