Welcome to our Centre
We offer a warm welcome and safe space to people seeking support and sanctuary; together we share food, stories and build relationships.
We offer specialist advice on immigration and asylum support, and one to one support with welfare, housing, health and access to wider services. We provide hot meals, English language classes, training, cultural, social and wellbeing activities, trips and volunteering opportunities. We have a nursery, spaces for reflection and an integration service. As a core member of the Calderdale Valley of Sanctuary, we want to share stories and build awareness about human rights, advocating and campaigning locally and nationally.
We began in 1968 as a Church playgroup and in 2009 became an independent charity, continually evolving and welcoming all, regardless of faith, ethnicity or background. We have 12 staff, 140 volunteers and a community of 750 individuals and families from 57 different countries.
Latest News
English for Life in the UK – Tudor England
Season 2, Episode 9 A brief overview of the life of two of England’s most famous monarchs, King Henry VIII (8th) and Elizabeth I. In a bonus section we cover in [...]
Coronavirus Update: Lockdown January 2021
Starting 5 January 2021 England is in a national lockdown. Do not leave your home unless it is necessary. In the past week there have been 571 new cases of Coronavirus in Calderdale. [...]
English for Life in the UK – Christmas in the UK
Season 2, Episode 8 A discussion of aspects of the history and traditions of Christmas in the U.K. and the importance of Christmas to Christians. Download Transcript Christmas Nativity. Photo by [...]
Please also take our English for life in the UK survey here
English for life in the U.K. is one of the ESOL classes here at the Centre, run by a team of our volunteers. There is a weekly podcast to support this class which is available here, which we hope will be of interest to anyone wanting to improve their English and learn more about life in the U.K. There are also transcripts of most of the episodes here, and there is additional material available through our twitter account here.