The refugees and asylum seekers we support have often survived torture, trafficking, and other gross abuses of their human rights.

Now living in exile, many live in poverty, isolation and destitution; many asylum-seekers have waited over three years for Home Office interviews, during which they have no access to any financial support, and are barred from employment. The pandemic has hit our community very hard. Pandemic lockdowns have isolated many, and the frequent necessity to shield from the virus on account of existing health conditions has greatly increased the stress of people already suffering poor mental health in a completely unfamiliar society.

Their difficulties are compounded by their many practical challenges, such as housing in squalid asylum accommodation, lack of access to welfare support, and difficulty accessing healthcare.

We now need urgently to raise funds for a programme of social and legal support for these refugees and asylum seekers in 2022, so that they receive support during their asylum applications, and we may continue to organise social events and office space for one-to-one specialist support needed for those we support gradually to rebuild their lives here.

We organise weekly asylum support workshops, facilitated by licensed immigration advisors and solicitors, and provide a safe space for social gatherings for asylum-seekers and refugees to share their experiences, and learn gradually to trust others again. Our members often find these meetings and social interaction profoundly important, since they befriend and network with people facing the same struggles. In our meetings, members of our support group begin to feel less isolated and build new relationships in safety, often comparing other members to their "sisters and brothers in the UK".

Most of our community's members have nowhere to socialise within their own language communities on account of their sexualities, which frequently make them outcasts within diasporas. Therefore, our weekly social activities give people precious time in a party setting, helping them restore a sense of peace. Members share drinks, listen to music, talk, dance and watch others dance. For those isolated for most of the week, this is a time for people to come together: "When you come to G-A-Y together, you laugh together, you drink together and eat together, it is like family".

Over six years of our support group's existence, all respondents to our anonymous members' survey told us that their mental health has improved as a direct result of being supported by OPAL.

Please help fund our social activities and asylum support meetings in 2022, so LGBT asylum seekers can continue to navigate the stressful asylum procedures and rebuild their lives after they win refugee status.