META @ Keystone

META (Mobile Europeans Taking Action) is a range of services provided by Keystone Development Trust for the migrant European worker communities in the Keystone area.

META Drop-in

...is a face to face information and support service staffed by migrant workers to help mobile communities settle down quickly and effectively. META staff provide support in English, Portuguese, Polish, Lithuanian and Russian on:

• ·               Where to get help and advice in the UK;  
• ·               Information about rights to live and work in the UK;
• ·               Welfare benefits;  
• ·               Housing;  
• ·               Public services;  
• ·               Driving in the UK;  
• ·               Issues related to Consulates/ Embassies;  
• ·               Applying for a National Insurance number;
• ·               Reading and writing letters;
• ·               Filling in some forms;  
• ·               Finding employment;  
• ·               Enrolling in training courses;

Opening hours:  

Monday: 10:00 – 17:00 

Tuesday: 10:00 – 17:00 

META, The Limes, 32 Bridge Street, Thetford IP24 3AG tel. 01842 754639

META Stop Smoking Service

META delivers a Level 2 Smoking Cessation Service, commissioned by NHS Norfolk, to migrant workers in the Thetford area. The service operates five days a week and is staffed by NHS-trained advisors who are themselves migrant workers. The service is delivered in the Polish, Lithuanian, Russian and Portuguese languages.

Advisors will

• ·         discuss the effects of smoking and of quitting smoking with clients
• ·         assess each client’s dependence on smoking
• ·         help clients to set a quit date
• ·         provide intensive emotional  and behavioural support and advice throughout the quit process, either on a one-to-one basis or in small groups
• ·         ensure that clients are fully informed about the range of products that can help people quit smoking

• ·         enable clients to obtain suitable products from their GP or pharmacy.

Clients can refer themselves to the service or can be referred by other agencies and healthcare organisations. To leave a message for an advisor please call 01842 757346 (Eastern European languages) or 01842 757356 (Portuguese). Robyn Challis, service manager, can be contacted on 01842 757352.

META Works! is a project funded by the European Social Fund and the Skills Funding Agency. Based on research with local employers and incorporating the successful approaches taken by Keystone’s Work Clubs, the project aims to support 60 European migrants with issues relating to work.

To be eligible for the project clients must be aged 18 or over, working less than 16 hours a week, and must have lived in the European Union for the last 3 years. The project is targeted at migrants who arrive in the UK looking for work but with only a basic level of English. The project provides each registered learner with four language lessons focusing on language needed when at work, and the opportunity to attend a weekly drop-in session to improve employability by focusing on CV building, job searching, interview skills and the opportunity to learn about cultural differences between working in the UK and elsewhere. Drop-in sessions will run until April/ May 2012.

The funding for this project is administered by an organisation called TCHC. The other community grants being administered by TCHC can be found on the TCHC website : www.tchc.net/services/community-grants  - Please check to see whether any are relevant to you or your clients. To find out more about META Works! contact Robyn Challis on 01842 757352 or