3.
BCAR Reception Centre in Londoni,☛
a)
Kensington Palace Barracks, Kensington Church Street
These Barracks were the only place large enough to accommodate 346 refugees at one time and which could be made available for BCAR to rent within a matter of a couple of days. The Kensington Students Centre who occupy the Barracks and from whom we are renting the premises agreed to make alternative arrangements for the student tourists housed there and the place was made available to us as from 14 October. Thanks to the marvellous co-operation and help from Voluntary Agencies represented on our Council, the Local Authority, the Home Office and other Govern- ment Departments and the tremendous work put in by our own staff the Centre is functioning as well as it possibly can in such premises. Special thanks are due to the British Red Cross who set up a First Aid point and a small hospital init at the Barracks manned 24-hours a day and for assisting in many other ways. WRVS took charge of the distribution of clothing to the refugeep, IBS seconded several of their trained social workers to carry out interviewing; ILEA set up English classes for adults and arranged temporary admission to schools in the area for children. A great deal of support was 'received from the Medical Adviser of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, who arranged for a Mobile X-Ray Unit at the Barracks, inoculations and tests and general medical supervision, and from the Borough's Environmental Health Officer. Thanks to the Home Office a BCAR Office was furnished and equipped in the Barracks and we received an advance from the Home Office towards the initial costs and an undertaking to cover within reasonable déficit we shall be incurring on this particular operation. We shall, however, need to raise substantial sums for essentials that cannot be covered from Government sctrces and for costs involved with long-term resettlemcnt. needs. We have also had overwhelming support and gifts from the general public and the help of many volunteers.
Out of these 346 refugees 232 wish to move on to other countries where they have relatives already settled - the majority wish to go to the USA and the next largest group to Australia. We are now awaiting to hear from UNHCR how many of those applying for settlement in other countries will in fact be accepted by those countries.
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The next stage of plansing resettlement of these people, preferably in small groups of say 50, in various parts of the United Kingdom is now in process and this will be a joint operation by Ockenden Venture and BCAR. Many offers for resettlement have already been regsived from various parts of England and we are investigating the suitability of these areas with regard to availability of employment, local support eto.
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b)
17-21 Denbigh Road, Notting Hill
ab..
This hostel, which we took on to replace our previous reception Centre for Vietnamese in Earls Court Square, accommodates currently 54 refugees. Four of the families who arrived last May are still awaiting resettle- ment by Ockenden Venture in Wolverhampton and it is hoped that these arrangements can be finalised and the ›families moved out within a couple of weeks. We shall then be in the position to received a further group at Denbigh Road.
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