THIS week, we are shouting about generous Swindon residents that open their hearts and their homes to offer refugees and asylum seekers a place to stay.

Eight people take part in the Swindon City of Sanctuary’s scheme to house those who have fled their homelands and need somewhere to rest their heads during the eight-week gap between getting the right to remain in the country and sorting out their national insurance and finding a more permanent place to live.

Ian Howard has supported the charity and housed nine people over the last 18 months by letting them use the spare bedroom in his family home.

The 55-year-old said: “It’s been awesome, the best thing we have ever done, there have been so many memorable moments, everyone should get involved in this project, it would break down all the misconceived ideas people have about them.

“Discovering their life stories has been fascinating and moving. Once you sit down and talk to people who have put their lives on the line to cross the sea and the continent far away from their families because they’re under threat and see Britain as a fair and lawful place, you just want to give them a chance to make a life for themselves here.

“My 21-year-old son and 24-year-old daughter have helped befriend the people who come to stay because they tend to be around that age group and have more in common with them than me, they share the same hopes and fears for the future.

“It’s been good for my children to learn more about people from other parts of the world and our guests have been very honourable, none of them betrayed our trust and we treated them like friends.

“We’ve helped the City of Sanctuary since it started, my family is very invested in the cause and wanted to help it along. I visited Calais a couple of times and that really raised my awareness of the struggles refugees face.”

One 28-year-old asylum seeker from Kuwait who stayed with Ian for two months spoke to the Adver about his experience but wished to remain anonymous.

He said:"They feel like a second family to me, they were lovely, I didn't feel like a stranger, I felt comfortable and had a nice time. I am alone in this country and though I have made a few friends, there were times when I felt nervous or depressed and needed someone to talk to just to make me feel like there was someone who cared about me.

"They have been so helpful, they drove me up to London for my Home Office interview, they've been there for moral support when I needed it most. This scheme has helped so many people in my situation who were really struggling."

City of Sanctuary’s executive officer Nicola Wood said: “We have various projects focusing on integration and making sure people feel part of the community. Our Thursday evening event at Coffee One called We Are Open is lovely because everyone can come along, not just asylum seekers, and socialise, have a drink, play board games and relax.

“We work with three schools who want to have the Schools of Sanctuary award for learning about the refugee crisis and why people leave their homes and why it’s important to welcome people from other countries to their schools.

“People are feeling a little more anxious in recent years, we’ve had occasional nasty comments online, so we are focused on trying to reach out to people in a wider sense because we can have conversations about what’s causing hostility – in a gentle way, we’re not angry activists.”

For more information, visit swindon.cityofsanctuary.org

Is there something about Swindon that you want to shout about? It could be a well-known charity, an under-appreciated community group, a kind-hearted resident that helps out around town, or anything and anyone who makes a positive difference to the lives of people in Swindon.

Get in touch by calling 01793 501734 or email daniel.angelini@newsquest.co.uk