The Eastern European Hub

Bridging Communities: Empowering Bulgarian Families Through Advocacy, Access, and Education

Supporting Our Bulgarian and Roma Community

Since 2020, Edmonton Community Partnership (ECP) has been dedicated to supporting vulnerable families from the Bulgarian/Roma background in Edmonton. This growing community has faced significant challenges with integration. Our local schools have highlighted difficulties in communicating with parents due to language barriers, leading to many children having limited English proficiency, low academic attainment, and irregular attendance.

We’ve also learned that, following Brexit, a high proportion of this group has been unable (and unaware) of how to secure their immigration status. This puts them at severe risk of becoming undocumented, losing access to essential services like healthcare, welfare, employment, and housing, and subsequently facing a greater risk of exploitation and involvement in criminal activity.

To address these critical issues and provide comprehensive support, we’ve forged several key partnerships:

Our Key Partnerships

The Home Office

Since October 2020, ECP has been one of approximately 70 grant-funded organizations in the UK supporting vulnerable EU citizens to access the EU Settlement Scheme and secure their status. We collaborate closely with Settled, a multilingual charity with qualified immigration advisors, to support our families and to circulate and translate vital information they need.

Enfield Council

Both the Public Health and Community Engagement teams at Enfield Council have identified this community as vulnerable. They are working with organizations like ECP to engage these families and help them access healthcare (including COVID vaccines) and council services, such as housing. ECP was also invited to join the council-run GRT board, a steering group dedicated to finding the best ways to support the large Gypsy/Roma/Traveller communities across the borough.

The National Lottery

In July 2021, we secured significant funding from The National Lottery to establish a three-year project focused on holistic community support. This funding has enabled us to employ a dedicated team to conduct outreach most weekdays and to be based in schools with the largest Bulgarian populations. We provide support (and signpost to further help) on issues related to:

  • Employment
  • Immigration
  • Welfare
  • Homelessness
  • Health
  • Education
  • Community Safety

We also translate documents and attend meetings to ensure their voices are heard. We’ve been fortunate to attract several local volunteers, some of whom have undergone training and are now employed to further strengthen our outreach team.

How We Provide Support

Community Outreach

Our dedicated team works from a variety of accessible locations, including churches, cafes, libraries, GP surgeries, schools, Pymmes Park Visitors Centre, and other community venues, ensuring residents feel comfortable seeking assistance. We regularly attend coffee mornings and events at schools and community centres, and we even escort families to local healthcare providers for services like blood pressure clinics.

Word of our outreach support has spread, and we now collaborate closely with Enfield Council community hubs, social services, early help teams, local police, and Healthwatch. You can reach our team by email, phone, Facebook, or in-person.

In-School Support

We have three members of staff working across six to seven of our schools. They provide support to families similar to our outreach team, but with a specific focus on school-related issues, such as:

  • Improving attendance
  • Understanding additional needs
  • Translating at parents’ evenings and other school meetings

One of our team members is a teaching assistant who helps pupils catch up with their peers, develop their language skills, and supports staff who struggle to communicate effectively with them. We also work with small groups of parents, supporting them in learning English.

Contact Us

If you have any inquiries about this vital project, please contact:

Hannah at hannah@edmontoncommunitypartnership.org or Saray at saray@edmontoncommunitypartnership.org

Funded By