Winter is a time for us to come together, gathering in the warmth of home and enjoying the company of friends and family.
For many refugees, this will be impossible. With hundreds facing homelessness and destitution this winter, many won’t have a place to call home.
In our previous blogs we spoke to Omar about his harrowing experience of sleeping on a mattress behind a supermarket. He eventually found support and community with the help of the Refugee Council.
Our Destitution Service was a lifeline to Omar. In this blog we speak to Kellie Higgins, the Destitution Coordinator at the Refugee Council. Read on to find out how this service is changing lives every day.
If you would like to support our transformative work, please consider making a donation today.
Our Destitution Service is changing lives every day.
The Destitution Service
The difficult and lengthy asylum process often leaves people destitute.
People come along to our drop-in service in Dalston on Fridays. Our job is to help them to get out of destitution.
That can take a day’s work, or it can take a few years. It’s a tough job but it’s also really rewarding. The challenges are big, but the rewards are big as well.
Often when we first meet a client they are bewildered, hungry, tired and would like to have a shower and just go to sleep.
The strength and resilience of the people we work with is just remarkable.
We help with basic needs as well as a more holistic approach
A Holistic Approach
We help people in many different ways. We start by having an understanding of their immediate needs and this allows us to support and empower them.
We recognise the importance of having a safe place people can access. We might see someone once or we might see them every Friday for many, many years. It’s important we recognise what a client is going through on each individual day.
By visiting the drop-in they can start to get their basic needs met.
We provide people with a hot meal, a place to shower and wash their clothes. We can also provide some financial and emotional support. The necessities that everyone deserves. We also help to start rebuilding their lives by providing a wide range of other services.
We help people find legal advice, healthcare, shelters and hosting schemes, as well as English classes. We also offer people opportunities to explore community activities that help with learning new skills and making friends.
Most of the volunteers at the day centre are clients who are refugees themselves
Our Clients
When Omar first reached out to us it was during the pandemic and we assisted him to get connected with an online English course. Now he speaks English well, it’s really remarkable. He was very active, he was very engaged, he wanted to participate.
We offer a weekly online drop-in group for people who might have come through the service and are now no longer destitute. People sometimes get sent to a region where they don’t know anyone and feel isolated and lonely. They are able to come back and be part of the group.
We’ve got people all over the country that come to talk to each other. We’re trying to build a community and a way for people to rebuild their lives and connect through shared experiences.
Our Volunteers
The project relies on volunteers so I plan each day according to how many volunteers we’ll have. Most of the volunteers at the day centre are clients who are refugees themselves. It’s so wonderful to see how people want to give back, to create community and help support others.
How Can I Help?
The Destitution Service is a lifeline to our clients and without it, many would be left with nowhere to turn. The need for services like these is huge but resources are very limited.
If you would like to support our work and help transform lives, you can make a donation here. ■
