The Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group was set up in 1995 when the UK Immigration Service began to detain people at a small holding centre near Gatwick Airport. The following year, Tinsley House Detention Centre was built, and we became a registered charity.
GDWG has now grown to over 70 volunteers, who visit and befriend asylum seekers and immigration detainees at Tinsley House and Brook House. The group believes that each detainee has a right to be treated with respect and compassion, whatever the outcome of their case.
We are non-party political and do not represent any vested interests. Although we do not campaign, we use our insight into the experiences of detainees to improve conditions, inform policy and challenge negative images of asylum seekers.
We network with other organisations who help detainees, such as the Association for Visitors to Immigration Detainees (AVID) and Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID), and are participating members of the Asylum Rights Campaign.
The new detention facility at Gatwick, Brook House, opened in March 2009, and has an operational capacity of 426 single males. Brook House is operating alongside Tinsley House, and both centres are being run by GSL (who are now part of Group 4). GDWG are supporting detainees held at both centres.
Speakers
Do you belong to an organisation in the South-East that would like to find out more about asylum seekers ad detention.
If so, we are always pleased to provide a volunteer from our group to come and speak about our work. If you would like more information, send us an email.
info@gdwg.org.uk
