Refugee Homelessness Crisis

Could you find a new home, set up a bank account and get a job in just seven days? This is the struggle that many refugees are facing this winter, as leading charities warn of an impending homelessness crisis. 

Many refugees are facing homelessness

At Refugee Action Kingston, our clients can sometimes wait years to find out if their claim for asylum has been successful. When they finally do receive their status, it should be a moment of unreserved relief and joy. However, due to a new policy implemented by the Home Office, many of our clients are now faced with the prospect of near-immediate homelessness.

While asylum seekers wait for the decision on their claim, they are often in temporary accommodation, with many on little more than £9 a week! Once they receive their refugee status, they have to find new accommodation, set up a bank account and find work in a very short space of time. Newly-recognised refugees previously had a mere 28 days to leave temporary accommodation but over the summer, the Home Office reduced that already tight time frame to an impossible 7 days. The British Red Cross estimates that as many as 50,000 refugees will be at risk of homelessness this winter as a result.

Most asylum seekers are not permitted to work while they wait for a decision and therefore most have no employment references, no landlord references, no deposit for rent and no address to set up a bank account. Getting your first Universal Credit payment takes six weeks. There is simply not enough time for people to obtain all the necessary documentation and support in seven days.  

The British Red Cross have estimated that as many as 50,000 refugees will be at risk of homelessness this winter

In the context of a housing emergency across the capital, with almost half of private rented properties having come off the market in the last few years, this change in policy is already having a devastating impact on refugees.  Matt Downie, the Chief Executive of Crisis said “It’s frankly inhumane to expect people who have just been granted refugee status to leave their asylum accommodation within seven days. In the vast majority of cases, it’s obvious to all of us that this can only lead to one outcome – homelessness and destitution. This is no way to start a new life in a country with a proud history of supporting people fleeing war and persecution.”  

At Refugee Action Kingston, we have already seen the effects of this new policy. One of our clients was given just one day to leave his accommodation. Director of Refugee Action Kingston, Bassam Mahfouz said: 

“Being finally granted refugee status, should be an overwhelming moment of joy, marking the end of an incredibly tortuous and traumatic journey for anyone who has to leave everything behind.  However, this new policy means that instead of it marking the beginning of a bright new chapter building a new life and contributing their skills in our community; for too many this means a sentence of a long, bleak winter alone, facing destitution, hunger and the cold.” 

You can do something about it today: we are asking for donations so that we can support refugees and help them find accommodation, work and access other essential resources. Please also consider becoming a regular, monthly donor as this will have a real, lasting impact on our ability to support some of the most vulnerable people in our society.