West Midlands Destitution project
The Children’s Society is increasingly concerned about the levels of destitution facing refugee and asylum-seeking children, which is often the result of Britain’s chaotic asylum process.
Working with the Church and other voluntary agencies in the West Midlands we have been undertaking case-work, helping families to get legal advice and providing crisis grants for those in the most extreme circumstances. The work has been focussed in Birmingham and Stoke on Trent but we have ambitions to expand throughout the region with the support of local groups and churches.
We hope to share our knowledge, resources and expertise with the networks already in existence to ensure that young refugee and asylum seeking children are not forced to spend their childhood feeling unwelcome, hungry, homeless and living in fear.
The project follows on from research published by The Children’s Society, (Living on the edge of despair, 2007), which gave a snapshot of the stark reality for child asylum seekers and refugees living in Britain.
This small study identified children growing up in households without food, heating or toys, mothers forced to prostitute themselves to survive, young people in care cut off from any help, becoming homeless at the age of 18, and pregnant women who could not afford to eat. This alarming trend was backed up by further research from the Joseph Rowntree Trust in September 2008.
Lisa Nandy, Policy Advisor at The Children’s Society says; “Children should never spend their childhoods hungry, homeless and living in fear. Regardless of their legal status we have a duty to protect and support these children as much as any other child in the UK.”
The project has been working closely with many charities, churches and community groups that also support large numbers of destitute people in the area including, ASIRT, The Birmingham Law Centre, and RESTORE – the Birmingham Churches Together Refugee project.
The project has the firm backing of The Rt Revd David Urquhart, The Bishop of Birmingham, who says "These families are living in extreme poverty on our doorstep as The Children's Society's report made painfully clear. I know of many churches and projects working with asylum seekers in the West Midlands supporting them through great hardship and the added support of The Children's Society has done much to help alleviate the suffering these families are forced to endure"
In addition to the work in Birmingham, The Children’s Society has been working closely with churches and agencies, such as, the Citizens Advice Bureau and YMCA in the Stoke-on-Trent region.
