Whilst studying for her History degree, Roisin built up a wealth of experience in the charity sector working with ground-breaking organisations such as Syria Relief, the Merseyside Refugee and Asylum Pre and Post Natal Support Group (MRANG), the Help the Homeless Society, South Liverpool Domestic Abuse Services, the NSPCC, and aiding refugees in Greece.
“I worked with some truly inspirational people, but the moment that shaped me the most was supporting an Iranian survivor with her asylum appeal. She had fled ‘honour’-based violence, rape and domestic violence and I was helping her to appeal the Home Office’s decision to reject her asylum application. The last time I saw her was on my final day volunteering and she was destitute, hopeless and suicidal. I’ve never forgotten her.”
In 2017, during the final months of her degree, Roisin was awarded the ‘Biggest Impact on Liverpool Community’ award from the Liverpool Guild of Students. After graduating she moved to Bangladesh to complete an internship at Deki, a microfinancing charity empowering people to escape poverty. She has also worked in the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) sector, as an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA), and she is now a Senior Domestic Violence Caseworker at Solace Women’s Aid, which offers advice and support to woman and children experiencing abuse.
In 2019 Roisin set up the Caim Project. “Using my volunteering experience I developed training and resources to educate frontline professionals and volunteers on how to safely, empathetically and effectively respond to refugees who have experienced or are at risk of sexual and/or domestic violence. I fundraise for these outreaches so that the Caim Project can offer free training to grassroots and frontline organisations and so far we have trained over 100 volunteers working in camps, squats and day centres in France and Greece.”