URGENT APPEAL – 16 APRIL 2012

This is an urgent appeal for supporters and benefactors, individuals, registered social landlords, voluntary organisations, trade unions, politicians and anyone else to donate to our emergency hardship fund for hundreds of refused refugees currently being made absolutely destitute n Glasgow. We also appeal for volunteers to come forward and offer a temporary space in their home to someone who is destitute.

156 refused refugees are being made absolutely destitute on the streets of Glasgow and we need your help.

Please watch the 5 minute film documentary which features some of the 156 refused refugees about to be made destitute from Y People-run accommodation in Glasgow.

Mahdi, from Iraq, suffers from kidney failure, and survives on charity handouts. He is unfit to travel, never mind return to unsafe conditions in his country of origin, Iraq.

Karzan and Shewa also face absolute destitution. He has physical scars all over his body from being beaten and tortured by his wife's extended family.

Their claims for protection have been turned down even though the UK Borders Agency acknowledges it is unsafe to return them to countries they came from. The UK Borders Agency likes to call them “failed asylum seekers” - a term of abuse as well as a blatant lie in moral terms. We prefer to use the correct term – refused refugees – human beings who have been refused refuge in a safe country from unsafe conditions in their own.

more info about the Lifeline project

Despite the UKBA’s insistence that no asylum seeker need be destitute, the reality is different. Last year we assisted 356 destitute asylum seekers in fear of return to their countries of origin. The numbers of long term destitute are also on the increase. In 2010 , a Russian family of three killed themselves by in Glasgow by throwing themselves from the 15th floor of their high rise flat on the day their housing and meagre benefits were stopped. They were in genuine fear of return. We want to avoid people feeling so hopeless they have to take their own lives to avoid returning to unsafe conditions.

The hardship fund gives out more than £24,000 in donations every year. The fund supports the most vulnerable to avoid street destitution, women, young people, the sick, elderly and families with children. The project helps pregnant women avoid going hungry, and project volunteers provide free shelter in their own homes. The project helps young women avoid being sexually exploited on the streets. It helps families stay together. It provides a “breathing space” at a time of deep crisis when government has withdrawn all benefits, housing and forbidden asylum seekers to seek work of any kind or recourse to public funds or housing. The destitution project gives service users time to decide what to do after receiving a refusal at a time of crisis.

The project assists those who are unable to return safely to their country of origin and helps vulnerable people to avoid taking drastic actions or spiralling into hopelessness. Our project means destitute asylum seekers can access small amounts of money for food, temporary shelter, make contact with lawyers and consider how to stabilise their situation.

There is no other project providing the comprehensive support package for destitute asylum seekers. We now face a shortfall of £25,000 which we must raise before the end of the year to avoid closure. Please help by giving a donation towards our destitution project and hardship fund.

Should you decide to make a donation, we will acknowledge your support in our annual report. See www.paih.org .

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate, whilst saving time and cutting costs for Positive Action in Housing.

So please donate now.