In early February 2026, Research Engagement Network (REN) teams from across the South East came together to share their work, insights and learning. The Sussex REN was represented by SIS Quality Assurance & Projects Manager Vikki Gimson, and Bilngual Community Researcher Meryam Ejjia, alongside colleagues from Trust for Developing Communities. The event showcased the diverse…
SIS has recently been working with Sussex Partnership NHS Trust (SPFT) on their How Are You Really Feeling? mental health resources which signpost people to appropriate support for their mental health and emotional wellbeing in their region of Sussex. These leaflets and posters are available in 5 Community Languages and uploaded to the SIS translated…
Last year we celebrated 30 years with 160 people from across our extensive community networks. The memory of that AGM carried us through the challenges of 2025. Our vision for the 2025 AGM was to bring people together, build resilience and counter anti-refugee narratives. We wanted to live up to our reputation as `The People`s…
SIS has joined UOK Brighton & Hove which relaunched under a new contract in October 2025. UOK is a partnership of local charities, community groups, and experts working together to strengthen mental health and wellbeing support for adults across the city. The strengthened partnership, funded by NHS Sussex and Brighton & Hove City Council, is…
Under the NHS Sussex Inclusion Health Grants Programme, Sussex Interpreting Services (SIS) has launched a series of impactful training initiatives, aimed at improving access to services for Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Migrants (RAM). The project is a collaboration between the SIS Learning and Development Team and the Projects Team, focusing on helping Service Providers gain…
We are very proud to publish our 2024-2025 Annual Review In the latest 16 page review we share the news that, this year, we were awarded 17 areas of Compliance Plus by the Customer Service Excellence Assessor. This is an outstanding achievement, placing us in the highest 5% of assessed organisations and this makes SIS…
In September, a Sussex Interpreting Services (SIS) linguist invited a small group of older (50 years +) Arabic speaking Service Users (SUs) to attend a ‘Souk’ style event with stalls and activities to celebrate health, wellbeing, and culture. Bridging Change organised the event, as part of their Ageing Well partnership work in response to needs…
Earlier this year, the Community Voices Group (CVG) started a series of discussions around the issue of racism in schools. Building on that, a workshop for parents and carers of children or young people from minoritised groups who have experienced racism at school was held in June. The workshop was led by Bridging Change alongside…
Sussex Interpreting Services (SIS) has undertaken two pieces of research, with Service Users and NHS departments, into why patients who require support with communicating in English miss some of their NHS appointments, and how that could be reduced. The first piece focussed on gathering insight from SIS Service Users who had missed NHS appointments. The…
SIS has gathered insight into pharmacy services in Brighton and Hove for people with language needs. This work was funded by the NHS Sussex Health Inequalities Grant. Background: As part of the national research conducted by Healthwatch Pharmacies: What People Want project, SIS supported Brighton & Hove Healthwatch to identify and interview a refugee or…
We held our annual Summer Celebration on Wednesday, 16th July, welcoming Linguists, Volunteers, Staff, and Trustees to the Friends Meeting House in Brighton for the second consecutive year. The event brought together 30 attendees who enjoyed food, conversation, and the chance to reconnect in person. “I feel really happy to be part of the event.…
On Saturday, 19th July, tens of thousands gathered in Brighton to celebrate Trans Pride — a powerful, joyful affirmation of identity, resilience, and community. Despite torrential rain at the start of the day, the skies soon cleared and the sun shone, reflecting the spirit and energy of the event. Sussex Interpreting Services (SIS) were proud…
Community Base recently invited organisations in the building to participate in a meeting with 30 Housing Officers from Brighton and Hove City Council’s Housing team. Community Base invited participants to share information about their services to meet the Housing team’s aim: ‘to work together to improve residents’ lives’. SIS Projects Coordinator Ben Williams…
On 11th June, we were delighted to host our latest Community Interpreter Event at the Friends Meeting House in Brighton. This event followed the success of similar gatherings in Eastbourne and Worthing, and once again brought together individuals from diverse backgrounds to learn more about the vital role of Community Interpreting. The purpose of these events is…
Last week was Volunteers’ Week – an opportunity for us to say a big thank you to all our wonderful volunteers! Our Volunteer Social Prescribers, Telephone Befrienders and Trustees make such a huge contribution to the work we do as an organisation. Without their efforts, it would not be possible for us to offer the…
Wow! We have been awarded 17 areas of Compliance Plus in our Customer Service Excellence (CSE) independent external assessment. Our highest achievement ever. This means we are in the top 5% of national assessments for all organisations of a comparable size and income level. It is also confirmed that we are at THE TOP OF…
SIS was recently invited by The Network of International Women for Brighton & Hove to attend their weekly drop-in at the Jubilee Library to give a presentation about SIS services and increase the attendees’ awareness of how to access information online in their preferred language. By addressing language barriers, SIS wants to ensure that all…
On Monday 28th April 2025, SIS Projects & Quality Assurance Manager Vikki Gimson and Learning & Development Manager Rosie represented SIS by attending a lecture for Master’s students on the Health Care Leadership and Commissioning Course at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School. The teaching topic was Health Inequalities as part of the module on…
What impact do the words we use have on people who access mental health services? That is the central question considered in an important new guide Changing the Language The guide has been coproduced by people with an interest in supporting a positive change of the language we use. This has included people with lived…
Community Voices Group (CVG) is for Brighton and Hove residents who identify as Black, brown, Asian or from another language, ethnic or migrant community. Members of the group talk to people in their community about what’s important to them and bring this information to meetings. The group discuss issues that matter to them and then…
As part of the Pan-Sussex Diversity in Research Engagement Network (Sussex REN), SIS has helped to develop a set of materials to support organisations that are working in health and care research. These resources outline best practices for building effective and successful relationships with Community Researchers They were created via a series of collaborative workshops,…
SIS is very proud to have been delivering Bilingual Social Prescribing for over 10 year. On National Social Prescribing Day we would like to offer our heartfelt thanks and celebrate the achievements of our dedicated team of volunteer and professional social prescribers, past and present, who have made a huge difference to the lives of…
Community Voices Group (CVG) is for Brighton and Hove residents who identify as Black, brown, Asian or from another language, ethnic or migrant community. Members of the group talk to people in their community about what’s important to them and bring this information to meetings. The group discuss the issues and then present their findings…
A family has had racist graffiti sprayed on the front of their council flat in Brighton. The family have used our interpreting services. They describe the terrible impact and stress of this disgusting abuse: https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/24901737.mans-kemp-town-flat-graffitied-abuse-racist-attack/?ref=wa We stand in full solidarity with the family. Such hate crime has no place in our multicultural society. I visited…
Kidney Cancer UK is running Kidney Cancer Awareness Week from 3rd – 7th February 2025. To coincide with that, SIS was approached by the Public Health team at Brighton and Hove City Council to look at how to share information about the common signs and symptoms of kidney cancer with SIS Service Users who wouldn’t…
On Saturday 18th January, SIS joined together with musicians and community groups for an afternoon of international music at Brighton’s Jubilee Library. Best Foot Music is a Brighton-based organisation, collaborating with musicians from around the world who have moved to the UK, creating space for those who may have been marginalised. The annual Winter Warmer…
Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) Family Hubs support families in the city with children aged from 0 to 19, and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) up to age 25. SIS was delighted to be commissioned by BHCC to create videos in 7 languages that explain what information, advice, and guidance…
SIS is celebrating 30 years! As part of our celebrations we have received 12 wonderful video messages of support from interpreters, trustees, partners and commissioners. We intend to post one a month for the year as part of our continuing celebrations. The first Video Message from SIS Community Interpreter Lai Lai has been posted. You…
SIS’ Bilingual Befriending Project matches people with a shared culture and language together to create friendships that make life better. A regular phone call is a positive social experience that relieves isolation and other social stresses. It is a distraction from everyday problems, can boost confidence, connect people with the community, help with integration and…
We are excited to announce that SIS has successfully received Cyber-Essentials Plus accreditation. A significant milestone in strengthening our organisation’s cybersecurity. This advanced certification demonstrates that SIS has undergone a rigorous independent assessment of our cybersecurity measures, including checks on software, malware defences, network security and user access controls to ensure that we meet the…
SIS is celebrating 30 years! Our AGM was a fantastic opportunity for staff, Linguists, Trustees, Service Users and partners to come together. Over 160 people attended to mark this important milestone as a charity and social enterprise. 18 Interpreters worked in 12 languages so that our beneficiaries were fully involved. Our fantastic Linguists were at…
Keeping loved ones safe and protected is everyone’s priority. The NHS have been campaigning to raise awareness for the seasonal vaccinations that vulnerable people should be getting. SIS was commissioned by Brighton & Hove City Council Public Health Team to help with this campaign and ensure that our Service Users are included and have the…
We are very proud to publish our 2023-2024 Annual Review Investing to Grow It is hard to believe we are 30! We began small. We delivered 600 interpreting sessions a year in 15 languages. Today we manage 20,000 interpreting sessions a year in 47 languages. Over 30 years we provided 300,000+ interpreting sessions for 25,000…
SIS have successfully received Cyber-Essentials accreditation for a second consecutive year. With the increased risk of cyber attacks and the need to stay ahead and be vigilant, it is important to regularly check every aspect of your business network, from software updates to policies and training. Whilst no system can claim to be 100% secure,…
The recent tragic events in Southport, where both children and adults were killed or seriously wounded, are heartbreaking. Our deepest sympathies go out to the affected families and the entire community. It is both inexcusable and appalling that these terrible circumstances have been exploited by far-right racists and Islamophobes, leading to shocking acts of violence…
Peer Learning Sessions provide a space for SIS Linguists to meet their colleagues, share experience and receive information from SIS, Service Providers and other voluntary sector services. On Wednesday 17th July 2024 we were joined by Reuben from Switchboard who spoke with the group about LGBTQ inclusion. This was part of a “training exchange”…
In Autumn of 2023, SIS was invited to join the Pan-Sussex Diversity in Health and Care Research Engagement Network (REN) to work alongside partners from the NHS, Universities and VCSE to create a regional network of diverse Community Researchers who could support Sussex-based health and care research. To build the capacity of Community Researchers through…
Sussex Interpreting Services (SIS) held a community picnic at the Friends Meeting House in Brighton on 2nd July 2024, bringing together 32 colleagues (Self-Employed Linguists, Volunteers, Trustees and Staff) for an afternoon of catching up and celebration. The picnic was a great opportunity to relax and get to know each other a little better outside…
SIS is delighted to have been shortlisted as finalists, from 200 entries, in the Social Prescribing Awards 2024. This honour is in recognition of fantastic work carried over the past 8 years by our team of volunteer linguists and paid caseworkers. We have supported nearly 3000 people with their social, emotional and practical issues. Our…
SIS was really pleased to work with Best Foot Music, Brighton Jubilee Library and EuroMernet to celebrate Refugee Week. We focussed on the positive contribution that refugees make, their resilience and some of their stories. The theme this year was Our Home We heard some poetry addressing exile and enjoyed beautiful Oud playing from Bashir. It…
Our Social Prescribing service has developed gradually over the last 10 years with the number of Service Users we have been able to support in Brighton & Hove growing each year. Within our Social Prescribing service we currently have two roles. Our Volunteer Social Prescribers play an integral role in the running of our Social…
Last Tuesday we had a Volunteer celebration tea party at Community Base to mark national Volunteers Week and give a big thank you to all our volunteers – Volunteer Social Prescribers, Telephone Befrienders and our Trustees. Our Volunteer Social Prescribers play an integral role in the running of our Social Prescribing service, talking to people…
The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 and subsequent Home Office actions is creating a sense of alarm amongst people who feel that they may be targeted for removal to Rwanda. It is very important that we work with others to promote reliable and accessible information. This is something we worked hard to…
This is the 14th continuous year of our Customer Service Excellence (CSE) journey. This year we worked with a new Assessor. We also involved the whole staff team in considering together all the evidence we wanted to submit – an important development. www.customerserviceexcellence.uk.com https://www.customerserviceexcellence.uk.com/media/1080/updatedcontacts_csestandard_2024.pdf We secured an exceptional 15 areas of Compliance Plus for our…
NHS Sussex commissioned SIS to contribute to the second phase of insight gathering to find out “What do Women in Sussex want from Women’s Health Services?”. An Arabic Speaking SIS Bilingual Community Researcher (BCR) interviewed 5 Arabic Speaking Service Users to help give a voice to women and girls with language needs. Their contribution has…
Funded by NHS Sussex Health Inequalities Grant. In autumn 2023 SIS carried out some research into the impacts of the cost of living crisis. “The cost of living crisis refers to a period of time during which the cost of everyday essentials like food and bills increases more quickly than average household income. The UK…
SIS has supported, sponsored and promoted Chinese New Year celebrations in Brighton & Hove for more than 25 years. Good relations with the Chinese community have always been very important to our work. We have been delighted to join in celebrations and use the opportunity to distribute translated self-referral cards and explain how people can…
Towards the end of each year we invite self-employed and volunteer linguists to join staff and trustees at Community Base to share food, catch up and celebrate what we have collectively achieved. Some food is provided but what really make this event special is that everyone brings a dish they have prepared or sourced to…
Following the success of our first Community Interpreter Enrolment event in Worthing in May we met with community members in Eastbourne on 7th December 2023 at Community Wise in Eastbourne. The aim of the event was to connect and build relationships with people from communities within East Sussex and give information about Community Interpreting and…
Sunday 10th December is Human Rights Day. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights It sets out fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages. In 2018, people around the world recorded themselves reading an article of the Declaration in their native language. The…
In March 2023 Bridging Change published their report into The Food Access Needs of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities, Refugees and Asylum Seekers. SIS immediately responded with suggestion about how we might be able to help take forward some of the recommendations. We have subsequently been working with Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, Brighton…
This was our first in person AGM since March 2020. It was great to be in the room together, to connect, celebrate and learn from each other. From the feedback we have received we are so pleased to have achieved these aims – please see the voting tables and feedback below. A special thank you…
On Monday 26th June 2023 SIS welcomed 33 SIS Service Users in 6 languages (Arabic, Cantonese, Farsi, Italian, Pashto, Portuguese) to a specially organised lunch time event to help us get to know them better, hear their opinions about SIS, understand their needs and share knowledge about communities and culture. “We are grateful for having…
Earlier this year, SIS support one of our Service Users to share her views of maternity and post natal support with Healthwatch. This contribution was 1 of 20 interviews conducted by Healthwatch across the country and feedback was combined with results from a national survey completed by 2693 people. I was able to share my…
We are very proud to publish the SIS Annual Review 2022-2023 : More Than Interpreting We have been working hard to sustain and develop our suite of language support services (pages 8-10). Our vision is to provide integrated pathways for Service Users to easily access social care and health. We want to do this at the…
SIS works closely with many organisations and we store sensitive data on our computer systems, and as such we take our cyber-security very seriously. Cyber security is how individuals and organisations reduce the risk of cyber-attack. Cyber security’s core function is to protect the devices we all use (smartphones, laptops, tablets, and computers), and the…
A partnership of SIS and Together Co have been delivering services to support Ukrainian refugees living in the city, for over a year using a grant from BHCC. The service has been recommissioned for a further 15 months. “We would struggle without help from SIS and TCo. Lots of refugees and their sponsors would not be able…
SIS frequently receives unsolicited feedback from customers about the great service delivered by the Self-Employed Sessional Linguists we work with. It is very gratifying for our team to get this insight into the interpreter’s work and the impact they make on public service delivery. The scope of the feedback helps to illustrate the technicalities, boundaries…
The Commission on the Integration of Refugees is an independent Commission aiming to find out about what facilitates and hinders integration for refugees and asylum seekers within the UK. They have designed a survey https://www.surveyhero.com/c/tvhpa4us for people with lived experience of the system, to provide a powerful evidence base to inform its recommendations and support its work…
Last month the SIS Projects Team held a volunteer celebration event at Community Base. We tied this in with the national Volunteer Week which is held every year in June. It is a great opportunity to have an informal get together in person and to say a big THANK YOU to our volunteers. Some have…
The Cost of Living Crisis is affecting us all, but it is affecting the economically challenged and vulnerable the most. According to recent research, up to 3 million people in the UK who are behind with at least one bill have experienced a mental health problem in the last two years. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/18/uk-people-behind-on-bills-mental-health-problems-study There is an…
SIS continues to work to meet increasing interpreting need in Sussex by enrolling new Community Interpreters into our existing pool. On the 18th May 2023 we held what we hope will be the first of many enrolment events in Worthing at the Heene Community Centre. The aim of the event was to connect with people…
Last year our independent assessor for Customer Service Excellence spoke of our remarkable achievement in gaining 11 areas of Compliance Plus: “A remarkable achievement!” – Sussex Interpreting Services This year we have 12 areas of Compliance Plus. We retained 10 of the areas from last year (please see the link above for details) and added…
SIS Bilingual Community Researchers helped some of our Service Users to complete an online Survey. The Brighton and Hove City Council survey asked about experiences of Health Visiting services in the city in 2022. The council commissions the local health visiting service and the responses will help to shape this service in the future. The…
The core service SIS provides is the delivery of interpreting support for public services and the community and voluntary sector. In addition to that, we also provide our Service Users with extra support through the work of the Projects Team. For the SIS AGM in December 2022, we created a short video aimed at SIS…
Since August 2021, 137 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) have been reported missing from one hotel in Brighton & Hove used by the Home Office to accommodate them. 76 of those reported missing have currently not been located. Many of these children will have been traumatised by their experiences before arriving in the UK and…
Through our Bilingual Telephone Befriending Project, we match people with a shared culture and language together to create friendships that make life better. SIS runs this project in partnership with another Brighton based charity, Together Co. In December, Together Co organised a festive get together for some of their Befriending project Volunteers and participants. SIS…
We are so proud to publish our Annual Review April 2021 to March 2022: growing back stronger, better and fairer SIS Annual Review 2021-2022 Annual Reviews – Sussex Interpreting Services Jen our outgoing Chair reflects on 11 years as a Trustee. The Directors` Report addresses challenges, responses, developments, achievements and learning. Matt gives us some…
We are happy to announce SIS was successful in our tender bid (NHS Sussex – Mini Comp – Joint Commissioned Interpreting Contract) for Face To Face Interpreting, Telephone Interpreting and Video Interpreting. The new Contract will start on 1st November 2022 and operate for at least 3 years. The Contract demonstrates NHS Sussex Integrated Care…
Each year the flu vaccine helps protect against the most common strains of flu likely to be circulating. SIS is raising awareness and supporting uptake by sharing a translated leaflet that highlights why it is important to get the flu vaccine. SIS can help people to make an appointment for their flu vaccine, please contact…
A partnership of SIS and Together Co have been awarded a grant from Brighton and Hove City Council to provide specialist services to better support Ukrainian refugees living in the city. The grant fund will enable SIS to provide interpreting and translation support for organisations and community groups who do not have allocated resources. It…
In May and June 2022 Sussex NHS to help with a piece of work which aimed to get a quick idea of how people are doing after the worst of the pandemic, understand experiences and gather some views about priorities. SIS shared the link to an on-line survey with our contacts and brought together a…
In April and May 2022 SIS created a Digital Inclusion and Literacy Survey for SIS Service Users to investigate barriers, technology access and usage, identify priority support needs and encourage use of the SIS website to access fully translated information and make self-referrals to SIS services. 63 surveys in 10 languages were completed with the…
In May 2021 SIS was awarded £10,000 by Sussex Community Foundation to provide additional bilingual casework support for housing related issues. SIS delivered 18 Bilingual Social Prescribing and Advocacy cases to support Service Users (SU) to receive housing information, advice and guidance then access Housing and Homelessness services at Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC).…
This Refugee Week, people are being inviting to explore the theme of ‘Healing’. Through creativity and conversations, Refugee Week 2022 will be a celebration of community, mutual care, and the human ability to start again. There is more information on the official website https://refugeeweek.org.uk/theme-of-refugee-week-2022-healing/ And an amazing schedule of events across the county Brighton…
In the past year, thanks to funding from Sussex Health and Care Partnership and Brighton and Hove City Council, SIS has become more actively involved in Community Research which has enabled our Service Users to be involved and have a voice in public service consultations. This work has taken a variety of forms; 5 bilingual…
Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration, which takes place in the first week of June, of the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering. SIS works with nearly 60 individuals who volunteer their time for our organisation as trustees, social prescribers and telephone befrienders. Without their support we would not be…
SIS, along with the other organisations in Social Prescribing Plus Partnership, are proud to announce that we have won this prestigious National Association of Linkworkers award. This award recognises an outstanding collaborative social prescribing partnership that promotes health and reduces inequalities. The judges said The Social Prescribing Plus Partnership is a strong example…
This is the 12th continuous year of our Customer Service Excellence (CSE) journey – www.customerserviceexcellence.uk.com SIS was one of the first charities to engage in this rigorous independent quality assessment. We have built up momentum and provided compelling evidence of continuous improvement. This year we secured 11 areas of Compliance Plus! We retained all of…
We recently launched a new Virtual Switchboard to make it easier for people to book interpreters. People call us on 01273 702005. They hear a brief message asking them to chose a voice mailbox. The message is in Arabic, Cantonese, Farsi, Hungarian, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese and Russian with an option to select other. Messages left…
We have created short videos for people with language needs in Sussex. There are seven language versions: English Arabic Bengali Farsi Polish Romanian Spanish with more to follow. The videos explain: People’s rights to free interpreting at public service appointments How to contact SIS to book an interpreter for an appointment How to contact SIS to make a GP appointment, register…
Interpreting across the maternity care pathway is one of our biggest areas of work. Over the last 3 years we have provided interpreters in over 50+ languages. SIS Linguists are also routinely accessed by midwives, who ring our emergency line, seeking interpreting support during labour and post-natal discharge. Recently, we were happy to partner up…
Key to our response is understanding language need and people. Ukrainians will arrive traumatised, escaping from shocking situations. We have experience of supporting people and communities who have arrived at short notice; Sudanese Copts & Muslims (1991), A8 European Succession Countries (2004), Oromo – Gateway Protection Programme (2006), and Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme (2016-21). …
SIS Bilingual Community Researchers helped people to complete an online Survey. The Healthwatch Survey asked about patient experiences of accessing G.P Services in Sussex – of what is and isn`t working. Here are the stories and voices of some of our Service Users. “It is difficult to call my GP to book an appointment because…
In December 2021, SIS completed the recruitment and induction of a new cohort of 11 Volunteer Linguist. The group who speak 14 different languages between them, are joining our team to support the delivery of Social Prescribing and Community Outreach. The backgrounds of the volunteers were very varied and interesting, some of the new cohort…
We’re currently looking to expand out Community Interpreting pool of linguists. If you know someone, who is interested in Community Interpreting, who has accredited training or voluntary experience you can encourage them to find out more and send us a CV. We often received general enquiries from across Sussex, the UK and internationally about how…
Last Tuesday at least 27 men, women and children who were seeking safety in the UK, perished in the cold, unforgiving seas of the Channel. This is dreadful news. The tragedy is that these terrible deaths were preventable. Charities who have been supporting asylum seekers and refugees on both sides of the Channel predicted such…
In February and March this year a group of 18 individuals from ethnically and culturally diverse communities came together to form the Community Voices Group. They discussed issues that are important to their communities, brought together common themes and then presented their findings to members of Brighton and Hove City Council and the local NHS…
We asked staff members, a trustee and a linguist about 2020 and the impact of the pandemic on their work with SIS. Here is an edited version of their interesting responses. With thanks to Nadine, Vikki, Sue, Matt, Aidan and Shahreen. What was your biggest challenge in the last year? Nadine Zeytoun (Community…
SIS co-hosted a Vigil for the 39 migrants who tragically died in the back of a refrigerated lorry in the early hours of Wednesday morning. We wanted to show our concern and express our solidarity with our beneficiaries, many of whom are Migrants and some of whom have undertaken perilous journeys to reach the UK.…
Net Promoter Scores (NPS) are a useful way of measuring customer and stakeholder experience. https://www.netpromoter.com/know/ In the last 15 months we have collected our NPS using 5 Surveys that asked people: `How likely is it that you would recommend SIS to a colleague, friend or family member?” We received 306 responses: Of the responses, 179…
