The idea
AMET’s Peer Support Café is a regular, safe and welcoming community hub for refugee, asylum-seeking and underserved migrant residents in Westminster, particularly Arabic, Amharic and Tigrinya speakers. The café provides first-language peer support, wellbeing activities, health and safeguarding information, guest speaker sessions, and practical help to navigate NHS, council, housing, benefits, digital and local support services.
The project reduces isolation, builds confidence, strengthens community connection, and helps people access trusted support earlier, before problems escalate. Additional Spacehive funding will help AMET maintain and strengthen café delivery, provide refreshments and materials, support volunteer and interpreter costs, and ensure the café remains accessible to residents who are often missed by mainstream services.
What we'll deliver
- A MEETING PLACE TO GET TOGETHER AND COMBAT ISOLATION
- INFORMATION, ADVICE, GUIDANCE AND COMMUNITY LEARNING WORKSHOPS AND AWARENESS SESSIONS
- REFRESHMENTS AND SNACKS
Why it's a great idea
The Peer Support Café will reduce isolation and improve wellbeing for refugee, asylum-seeking and underserved migrant residents who may face language barriers, low confidence, digital exclusion and difficulty accessing mainstream services. Participants will benefit from a safe local space where they can meet others, receive support in their first language, build trust, and gain practical information about health, safeguarding, housing, benefits, employment, digital access and local services.
The project will help people seek support earlier, understand where to go for help, and feel more confident navigating UK systems. It will also strengthen community connection in Westminster by bringing residents together in a welcoming, inclusive setting. For local services, the café acts as a trusted bridge into communities that are often harder to reach, supporting earlier intervention and reducing unmet need.
Steps to get it done
- Confirm and hire the community hall or café venue for regular Peer Support Café sessions.
- Recruit guest speakers/ session facilitators on health , SAFEGUARDING, EMPLOYABILITY, digital access and local services.
- Prepare a clear delivery timetable showing session dates, topics, speakers and activities.
- Arrange interpreters, peer facilitators and volunteers to support Arabic, Amharic and Tigrinya-speaking participants.
- Plan refreshments, snacks and basic session materials for each café.
- Promote the café through existing community networks, partners, local groups, WhatsApp , social media and outreach.
- delivery of the Peer Support Café sessions and keep attendance records, participant feedback and facilitator notes.
- Review progress during delivery and adjust topics, promotion and support based on community need.
This request is for an expansion of ABDUL MAGEED EDUCATIONAL TRUST (AMET). AMET's periodic support programmes for the hard-to-reach Arabic speaking communities of West Central London.
It is intended as a pilot for, what AMET hopes will become, an annual support programme operating many hours and most days of the week throughout the year.
Funding for expansion and sustainability is expected from potential beneficiaries/local funding sources in the Public, Private and Third sector, such as, the local authority (Westminster City Council, Westminster Adult Education Services), large companies (BNP Paribas Bank based in Marylebone, Lincoln International) and housing associations (Dolphin Living, Notting Hill Genesis, Peabody) and other charities (One Westminster) and funders of previous local initiatives conducted by members of AMET Management Team.
