Asylum Link Merseyside Offering practical support and friendship

Asylum Link Merseyside - Offering practical support and friendship to refugees and asylum seekers - Destitution Asylum Link is a small local charity set up in 2001 to help Asylum Seekers in need of support, and to educate the wider public on asylum issues.

Asylum Link Merseyside - Offering practical support and friendship to refugees and asylum seekers - ALM Services Well Being Problem Solving

Asylum Link Merseyside - Offering practical support and friendship to refugees and asylum seekers - How did ALM’s Destitution Services Develop? • • Started in 2002/3 in response to people released from prison with no support, along with a small number of hosts and a food store. As time progressed, more people became homeless after refusal and we expanded provision, by 2007 acquiring 8 houses, for single male or single female occupants Since then we have had less finance and currently run 4 houses with capacity for 19 people. We no longer host. Around 40 people per week use the food store. We are attempting to run a Night Shelter during the winter months however this is proving difficult to start. Providing physical support to a group which constantly renews itself means that to be effective, you need to have other solutions and so casework and legal routes were developed.

Asylum Link Merseyside - Offering practical support and friendship to refugees and asylum seekers - Casework and Special Projects • The General Casework Team - 800 people per year of whom ⅓ are destitute. This is the gateway to destitution services. • With such a small capacity for housing or food, other solutions are called for. Housing especially is in short supply and no one goes into the house without a plan for leaving it. • In the past we have been reliant on people finding their own solicitors or ways forward. People were housed for years without progressing. • 5 years ago we embarked on a new project with our own Social Worker to explore the support available from Statutory Services for those Destitute+ • 2 years ago, the GMIAU, MRSN and ALM started a joint venture to work specifically with people in the houses to resolve their cases and put in further submissions

Asylum Link Merseyside - Offering practical support and friendship to refugees and asylum seekers - What does this look like General Casework Team Assessment , s 4 and other applications, HC 1 s, contact with Serco and Migrant Help. Referral to other agencies. Gateway to other ALM services Complex Needs Social Worker Interface between Asylum Seeker and Statutory Services. NRPF, Mental Health, Fee waivers, work with Social Services, NHS Destitution Team Access to Housing, Food Store, Postal Service Monitoring Progress GMIAU Solicitor Oversee access to Further Submissions assisted by ALM Volunteers Underpinning this is the Centre itself, providing Breakfast and Lunch 5 days per week, a place to go and meet others and a range of activities to try and make life a little bearable. Regular visits from NHS and Merseycare personnel take place each week.

Asylum Link Merseyside - Offering practical support and friendship to refugees and asylum seekers - What does it cost and how is it paid for? With 7 staff and 130 volunteers, the centre costs £ 350, 000 per year to run. The physical support of housing and food adds another £ 85, 000 ALM Personnel General Casework Team – Grant Funding inc ABC Trust, ARM Trust 1 Paid Caseworker - £ 27, 000/year and 15 Volunteers and Student Placements Complex Needs Social Worker – Lottery (Red Cross Partnership) 1 Paid Social Worker - £ 28, 700/year and Placement Students Destitution Manager – Grant Funding inc Sebba Trust and others Manager - £ 27, 000/year and 3 to 4 volunteers Housing £ 50, 000 per year – split costs with SAS(part of Churches Together on Merseyside) Food Store and Lunch £ 35, 000/year plus Donations from Costco, Tesco, Fareshare - split costs with SAS Total Spent on destitution - £ 170, 000 GMIAU Solicitor – £ 12, 000 for 2 days also through the Sebba Trust Oversee access to Further Submissions assisted by ALM Volunteers

Asylum Link Merseyside - Offering practical support and friendship to refugees and asylum seekers - What are the outcomes? Of 226 people seen by the Social Worker during the past 5 years, 95 had a form of positive outcome: • • • 45 obtained Leave to Remain (15 via the Parental Route) 37 had section 4, section 95 or Social Services Support (6 people) 11 people – removal of NRPF label During the same period we have housed 48 people across 20 bedspaces At least 500 different individuals have accessed the Food Store, taking 1 weeks worth of food at each visit. We have approximately 2000 visits per year. GMIAU Solicitor – in 2 years, assessed 40 cases, obtained support for 10 and Leave to remain for 3 During the 5 year period, Asylum Link has had 145, 000 pairs of feet through the door (including repeat visits) around 3000 individuals per year.

Asylum Link Merseyside - Offering practical support and friendship to refugees and asylum seekers - What have we learned It is not one individual, one organisation or one method that brings a positive outcome. It is a range of different techniques and support, underpinned by a sense of partnership and common cause which brings results, but with dedicated and committed people driving things forward. So work together, share ideas, think creatively and try different things.