Since the last newsletter in July, a new government has come into power and has been quick to cancel the controversial ‘Rwanda plan’. On 8 July, 300 grassroots organisations and 500 individuals in communities across the UK wrote to the incoming Prime Minister urging him to make changes to fix the asylum system and protect people seeking safety. Asylum seekers continue to find themselves in severe financial uncertainty, with difficult choices, where one essential need must be sacrificed for another.
Asylum Matters conducted research at the end of 2023, which included the following key findings in relation to asylum seekers:
- 91% don’t always have enough money to buy food.
- 75% can’t always afford the medicines they need.
- 85% struggle to afford the cleaning products they need.
- 97% experience difficulties affording the clothes they need.
- 65% face challenges affording the toiletries they need.
- 95% can’t always afford to travel where they need to by public transport.
- 88% don’t always have the data and phone credit they need.
- 83% say asylum support payments aren’t enough to cover the rise in the cost of living.
The Justice and Peace Refugee Project continues to welcome hundreds of people who use our services every month and your continued donations of food, toiletries and finance are needed more than ever. Items most urgently needed can be found here.
In addition to providing clients with much needed food, toiletries, second hand clothing and household items, our Project Co-ordinator, Azad, works tirelessly to make links with and signpost clients to other useful services that will benefit them. This month alone, different clients have been referred to the West End Refugee Service, North of England Refugee Service, Action Foundation, the Law Centre, the SVP, various foodbanks and Recyke, which provides recycled bicycles to clients.
We are grateful to the parishioners of St John of Beverley’s Church, in Haydon Bridge, who have approached the project to organise an Away Day in their church hall & grounds at the end of August for a group of our clients, predominantly families with children. Clients will spend the day in the grounds, be offered lunch and provided with activities such as a puppet show, games/crafts for the children and music. We are very grateful to the parishioners for organising these activities and providing our clients with the opportunity to have a break from the pressures of their daily lives.
We continue to rely on the generosity of individuals and parishes for donations for which we are incredibly grateful. We receive donations of food on Mondays between 10.30am and 1.30pm. Please remember that the project will not be open on Monday 26 August as this is a bank holiday.
We are thankful for and continue to rely on your generous financial support for our work. Details of our bank account (DHN Justice & Peace Refugee Project) can be found on our webpage. Please consider Gift-Aiding your donation, if possible, it makes a big difference. You can donate online (simply select the Gift Aid option when completing the online form) or download and submit a Gift-Aid Declaration form for a single or multiple donation. Visit our Donate and Gift Aid page now.
For more details about our work and how you can assist, please contact our Project Co-ordinator by email: jp.refugeeproject@diocesehn.org.uk or visit our webpage.