Lottery grant to fund migrants' centre

A centre for victims of racial harassment is to open in Belfast, it was revealed today.

The migrant centre will provide a one-stop shop with bilingual staff for migrants in crisis. It will be funded with a £424,276 grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

It will open in December and will be operated by the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (Nicem).

Nicem executive director Patrick Yu said: "The Belfast migrant centre is an exciting ground-breaking project set up under the umbrella of Nicem.

"It is the only one of its kind in Northern Ireland."

The centre will help people access public services and support victims of racist attack. It will provide education and training and increase rights awareness.

A panel of ministers will be established to take forward the Government's commitment to equality and inclusiveness through a Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Initiative (CSI).

The Executive will examine what support can be given to migrants who were working but find themselves out of work.

A spokeswoman for Nicem said that services for migrants in crisis are available from its headquarters in Belfast until the new centre opens.