Voyaach Helpdesk: Fragomen Volunteers Support Asylum Seekers in Belgium
July 13, 2022
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Fragomen professionals are volunteering at the Voyaach Helpdesk in Brussels, an initiative supporting asylum seekers and forcibly displaced persons in Belgium by providing them access to legal aid. The collaborative initiative provides legal information and access to immigration lawyers when individuals’ rights to basic services such as shelter are denied.
The initiative was originally triggered by the increased flow of forcibly displaced persons from Ukraine, however the Helpdesk aims to support all asylum seekers, regardless of their nationality or circumstance. In fact, volunteers have found that the majority of those pursuing the Helpdesk’s services are single men seeking asylum in Belgium who have been denied shelter by the authorities.
“Many young, single men seeking asylum come into Belgium not knowing where to go or how to gain access to shelter. The fact that they have a safe place to ask questions and to work with a designated lawyer to assist in finding shelter makes a big difference in their lives,” says Immigration Consultant and Helpdesk volunteer Mari Sewell.
Volunteers like Mari work to provide legal assistance to forcibly displaced people arriving in Belgium. Since April 19, more than 1,300 asylum-seekers have visited the Helpdesk, and more than 1,000 court decisions against Fedasil have been obtained.
The Helpdesk is the first initiative of its kind in Brussels in which business law firms have joined forces with NGOs in support of asylum seekers’ rights. Fragomen is volunteering in partnership with the Brussels Bar, the Bureau d’Aide Juridique and NGO Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, and is joined by more than 20 other law firms.
