Witamy w Cumbrii

As residents of Cumbria we know how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful part of the country and now, people from oversees are seeing the benefits too. Cumbria is now home to some 5000 Eastern European migrant workers.

Back in 1999 the county council set up a multi- cultural centre in Barrow to provide support and advice on all kinds of day-to-day issues from employment to accommodation for a number of Kosovan refugees that had been placed in Barrow during the war in Kosovo. Since then, more people from Eastern Europe have decided to move to Cumbria to live and work, and demand for the centre’s services has continued. The council has recognised the value, migrants bring to Cumbria and is now expanding the services provided.

The council now, has five outreach centres dotted around Cumbria in key locations where larger groups of migrant workers are living. The centre in Windermere helps those that have been attracted to the area to work in the hotel and tourism industry. 

Advocates from the multi-cultural service attend each of the outreach centres to help and support those in need. This can be in the form of accessing English classes, helping with housing and employment exploitation issues, registering hate crime, accessing the workers registration scheme, education, access to health and other services, immigration and benefits that they may be entitled to. The service is totally free and confidential.

Irene Troughton from the multi-cultural service said: 

“The level of success of each outreach facility is dependent on the partnerships forged with agencies in each area. We believe we have been very successful in our partnership working, particularly with our library service, Police, Citizen Advice Bureaux and Impact Housing who have helped us work much more effectively with our clients”

The service is invaluable to the foreign nationals that have settled in Cumbria. Adam Krystian regularly visits the outreach centre in Penrith. He said: 

“I think the service is brilliant. I can’t express how grateful I am, for the help that my advocacy and community relations officer, Kleanth, has given me. He’s helped me with all sorts of things from form filling to brushing up on my English skills”. 

For more information on opening times of the outreach centres visit 

cumbria.gov.uk/communityinformation or contact 01229 894401.