East European Resource Centre (EERC)

East European Resource Centre (EERC) provides advice, independent advocacy, and support to Eastern European nationals in London.

Background

EERC is an independent charity that has been providing advice and support to disadvantaged Eastern European migrants since 1984. Since the 2004 / 2007 EU enlargement, our core user group comes from the accession countries: Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Moldova, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, and Slovenia. EERC has also extended our services to Ukrainian people.

Our history started in 1981 when as a Polish Refugee Rights Group we initiated support to Polish refugees in London after the Martial Law and persecution of Poles involved in the Solidarity movement. As the Iron Curtain started to crumble, the need to support fleeing nationals from the Soviet Bloc encouraged us to expand our areas of help and we became the East European Advice Centre. Our history mirrors history of Central Europe, with waves of refugees from the Balkan wars, fleeing persecuted Roma communities and economic migrants from transforming Central European countries having shaped our work. In recognition of diversified portfolio of services and multiple needs of our constituents, we changed the name to EERC in 2015.

We help all Eastern European migrants in need but our core focus is on those who are disadvantaged, marginalised and isolated. We work with users who are socially excluded or at risk; who are impoverished and those who are victims of hate crime, domestic violence, and modern slavery; who have low life skills, are illiterate, and have no support networks. Our work combines frontline delivery of services with continuous needs assessment so that we can respond to new emerging needs, or needs specific to particular vulnerabilities of our users.

EERC Services

In 2022-23 we helped over 9,000 people through our client services. We’ve reached a further 1,400,000 people through online events and campaigns. Currently, we provide:

·       Advice and casework covering welfare benefits, housing, and immigration

·       Independent advocacy and holistic support for survivors of domestic violence and hate crime

·       Outreach and awareness-raising campaigns to reach even the most marginalised fellow expats

EERC is a fully professional organisation. We are members of Advice UK, National Homeless Advice Service, Children Poverty Action Group and many other networks. We are registered with the Office of Immigration Services Commissioner. EERC is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered with Companies House and the Charity Commission (1114607.)