We have been working with asylum seekers living in hotels for the last two years and want to expand the support we provide.

Since September 2020, we have been running advice sessions within the hotels where asylum seekers are being housed. In 2021, when people began arriving from Afghanistan and being housed in hotels, we immediately expanded our support to offer weekly outreach to run ESOL, fun activities and wellbeing support sessions to people residing in hotels, as well as to provide donations to people.

People in hotels lack access to basic wellbeing support so these project services are essential.

Asylum seekers are not allowed to work and only get £40.85 a week to live off, with some not even having access to that. This means that they don't have the means to pay for things for their wellbeing that most people rely as part of a fulfilling life, such as calling loved ones, access to food that meet dietary needs, access to dental care, beauty care, education or leisure activities to name just a few. On top of this, people in the hotels face years of waiting to hear the results of immigration applications, making it difficult to move forward with their lives and most are troubled with worries of having to return to where they have fled. This leads to feelings of hopelessness and despair and therefore they are in desperate need of wellbeing activities to look after their mental health while they wait for news that they can move forward.

We currently support people who been living in hotels for nearly two years and people who have fled Afghanistan, but we want to raise funds to expand our support.

We primarily support asylum seekers who have been living in the hotel since the beginning of the pandemic but we also support people from Afghanistan through this service. With funds raised we will be able to expand our support into more hotels around Greater Manchester. Since September 2021 we have seen so many positive outcomes from these services, and have partnered with organisations and supporters to provide the following:

- Dentist appointments and hair cuts.

- We have bought and donated essential items such as baby equipment, clothes, educational resources and food.

- A magician hosted shows for over 60 children in their own language.

- We took Afghan teenagers to a local skatepark for some skateboarding lessons and to have some fun and respite from worries at home.

- We delivered over 3000 meals to people in hotels following Ramadan in order that they could break their fast together and celebrate a very important religious holiday.

- We host weekly ESOL classes for women and children so that they can learn English.

- We have provided immigration and welfare advice sessions every 2 weeks within the hotel.

- We have run weekly women's knitting sessions, in order to build community and provide access to craft resources that they wouldn't normally have.

Thank you for considering donating to asylum seekers and refugees across Greater Manchester

Thank you for supporting Manchester Refugee Support Network. All funds raised will go directly to the projects and services mentioned above. We source all staffing and admin costs elsewhere.

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