• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

ASIRT

Asylum Support and Immigration Resource Team

  • Home
  • About ASIRT
  • News
  • Three Reasons to Donate
    • Donate
  • Useful Links
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Fund Raising / The Big Give: ASIRT’s Christmas Hardship Fundraiser.

The Big Give: ASIRT’s Christmas Hardship Fundraiser.

1st December 2021 By Dave

Today’s the first day of winter and, with it, comes the inevitable stress for our clients of trying to keep warm and fed during the long, cold months. The risk of street homelessness is all too real for far too many of the people we live with, but even for those ‘lucky’ enough to have a roof over their heads., making ends meet can be extremely difficult.

‘Sandra’ is a perfect example. She is the single mother of a 15 year old child, ‘Gloria’, who was born in the UK, and has never lived anywhere other than this country. Gloria has been eligible for British citizenship since her 10th birthday, but had been unable to secure her citizenship rights because Sandra was unable to meet the Home Office’s registration costs- costs which have been declared unlawful, but which the Home Office persists on charging, regardless.

At the time Sandra and Gloria first approached us, Sandra was undocumented: she was unable to support herself through employment, and she was denied recourse to public funds. She was facing the prospect of eviction from her home. We made a referral to the local Children’s Services social work team, requesting an assessment of Gloria’s needs under section 17 of the Children Act, and the provision of financial support to meet the family’s accommodation and subsistence costs pending resolution of their immigration difficulties.

While this referral was successful, the financial support provided from social services at the time- and more on that later- stood at just £35 per person per week; £70, from which Sandra was required to pay for food, travel, clothing, electricity, water and gas bill costs.

As you’ll doubtless remember, last winter was very long, and very cold. And, of course, the schools were closed for much of it due to the Covid pandemic, with Gloria therefore receiving online lessons at home. Inevitably, then, Sandra found herself struggling to pay the heating bills- with the result that she called us one afternoon to say that she was down to £1.00 on her meter, had exhausted her supply of emergency credit, and was not due to be paid by children’s services for another 5 days.

Mercifully, we were in a position to help: we run a hardship fund for precisely these situations, ensuring that people in crisis can get hold of emergency funds quickly and easily, as and when they need it: we sorted an emergency grant of £50 for Sandra and Gloria, and their lights stayed on over the winter.

But we need your help. We know that the situation, if anything, will be still grimmer for many of the people we work with over the coming winter, and we’re working with the Big Give to try to raise £4200 to help people through. And for the next 7 days- until December 7th- the Big Give will double whatever we raise. So if you’re able to support us in any way, no matter how small, there’s never going to be a better time to give.

Thanks so much for your help.

Oh- and I said I’d return to the matter of social services support levels, and of people having to pay all of their living costs on just £35 per week. We’d always thought that was unlawful- it’s even less than people receive on asylum support rates- , from which people are not expected by the Home Office to meet their utility costs. After 5 long years of arguing that case, in partnership with our friends at Central England Law Centre, we’ve finally seen some movement, and the Trust has increased its rates, putting in in place provision to meet utility costs, which will doubtless be a lifeline in the months to come.

And one more bit of good news: we managed to secure grant funding to pay Gloria’s citizenship registration costs, securing her life in the UK and safeguarding her from the pointless precarity which has characterised her childhood. The application was a success, and she’s now officially a British citizen; looking forward to realising her dream of training as a midwife.

Further Reading:

  • ASIRT and the Birmingham Legal Walk 2014: For Justice, Against Scapegoating, Against Destitution
  • Support ASIRT’s Paddington Children’s Project with Tesco’s ‘Bags of Help’.
  • Access to justice: a right, not a privilege.
  • ASIRT and the Birmingham Legal Walk: defending the right to have rights.

Filed Under: Fund Raising

About the Author

Dave Stamp has been Project Manager at the Asylum Support & Immigration Resource Team (ASIRT) since February 2005. He is a qualified Social Worker, is registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner as an immigration advisor, and chairs the regional Destitution Support Steering Group. He has worked with asylum seekers and refugees in Birmingham since the very beginning of the Home Office’s “dispersal” programme in April 2000, and, before joining ASIRT, has worked for a number of different agencies, including the Refugee Council, the British Red Cross and Birmingham City Council.

Dave has written a chapter on social work practice with asylum seekers and undocumented migrants, ‘My People…?’, which can be found in Race, Racism and Social Work: contemporary issues and debates [2013], edited by Michael Lavalette and Laura Penketh (Policy Press).

He tries to keep sane by spending time with his children, his friends, and by riding his bike.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Asylum
  • Case Studies
  • Domestic Violence
  • Fund Raising
  • Government
  • Homeless
  • Immigration
  • Job or volunteering
  • News
  • Uncategorised

Recent Posts

A result.

Some of you may remember the case of Gloria, which we discussed here a … Read More about A result.

Destitution, violence, and recourse to public funds. A student social worker’s reflections.

We have invited our colleague, Sophie Julian, a social work student on … Read More about Destitution, violence, and recourse to public funds. A student social worker’s reflections.

When ‘crisis’ becomes normality.

The term 'migrant crisis' rolls readily off many people's tongues.It's … Read More about When ‘crisis’ becomes normality.

Footer

logo's

This project is partly funded by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. Making management of migration flows more efficient across the European Union.

Social Links

Twitter Facebook

Donate

Contact

129 Zellig
Gibb St
Birmingham
B9 4AT

tel: 0121 213 5893
email: admin@asirt.org.uk

Privacy Notice

Asirt Copyright © 2022 · Registered charity no. 1159888 | web style Vivid |

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT