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🌟 Bringing Hope to Desperate Lives. Facing a dire housing crisis, refugees and asylum seekers in the US often find themselves in a cycle of despair. Many have fled war and persecution, only to struggle with homelessness. Join us in shedding light on this issue and supporting change. #HousingForHope #RefugeeSupport 💔🌍 Learn how we're making a difference: https://lnkd.in/euVgwNEs

Today, 1 out of 2 children are born into poverty. With more young people in the world that ever before, that means more youth than ever live in hurting communities, temporary housing, refugee camps, and slums. We won't change this by building more buildings; we need to go to the neighborhoods. The reason Love Your City works is because it goes to young people where they are and launches youth themselves as the changemakers their communities need. Instead of one group helping another, every part of the community— people from business, churches, schools, and the neighborhood— are woven together towards a big vision of changing the future for their city. Movements form, and more young people emerge out of poverty than live their entire lives within it. Love Your City is our solution to this world-altering problem. Learn more about Love Your City at https://hubs.ly/Q02kc4Yg0 and consider becoming a champion of these changemakers around the world: https://hubs.ly/Q02kc7T20

Holly Rooke (PhD Candidate, University of Sheffield, and member of South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group) and Aso Mohammadi (Kurdish journalist and migration researcher) write for the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence on the alarming rise in homelessness among refugees in Sheffield. The city, like much of the UK, has seen a dramatic increase in homelessness, with BAMER communities disproportionately affected. Newly granted refugees face severe challenges due to limited time to find accommodation and lack of support, exacerbating their risk of homelessness. Addressing these issues requires urgent policy changes to provide adequate support and prevent further homelessness among vulnerable populations. #HousingCrisis #RefugeeSupport #SocialJustice

Our service is not seeing the impact of 7 day evictions as much as others. The majority of people we work with will have ‘priority need’ and so will be eligible for homelessness assistance. It’s mainly single refugees affected by this policy and others who will not get a priority need decision. This has huge consequences. You have been granted refugee status, it’s accepted that you need protection, the protection your given is being effectively thrown out and onto the streets. This is NOT protection. Could you secure a job, a home, a bank account and restart your entire life in just 7 days? The policy also has difficult impacts on council housing departments who already have to manage huge strain in their system. Being given only 7 days to assess, decide and place for those who are eligible is a real challenge and often leads to people getting inappropriate offers of support due to a lack of resources and time. We already need to think about our overall legislation for homelessness and housing. But adding this sort of fuel to the fire is dangerous. Others in the sector feel as many as 50k people will be affected by this and risk homelessness. Hosting charities are already filling a huge gap. The long term answer can only be policy change.

What is it like to receive a negative asylum decision? We ask this question at a time when just 2 days ago a boat carrying refugees sank in the Channel, killing 6 people. As if the journey to claim asylum (as you can't claim asylum without being in the UK) wasn't hard enough, those who arrive are then subject to a gruelling application process which is confusing, upsetting and degrading. A recent No Accommodation Network report found that: -Many asylum seekers don't understand the process and feel lost after a negative decision. -Most aren't aware of charitable support, often leading to periods of homelessness. -Asylum seekers frequently feel their evidence is doubted by the Home Office. -High-quality legal support is scarce post a negative decision, leading many to self-represent. -Physical and mental health of asylum seekers often deteriorates due to hardships faced. Nafsiyat provides mental health support for both asylum seekers and refugees. We know the toll the application process, which can last years, has. We hope the government takes note of this report and follows its recommendations. #safepassagenow #asylumUK #asylumseekersUK

Check out this GBH article with important contributions from Aura Obando, medical director of BHCHP Family Team. The story discusses the new state mandate for families living in overflow shelter sites such as the one set up at the Melnea Cass Recreational Complex where we have recently begun providing services to migrant families experiencing homelessness. Take a few minutes to learn more about the issue and hear from Dr. Obando! https://bit.ly/4cxrVRn

Join the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless on Thursday, April 18th at 5pm for the next session in our 2024 virtual Education Series: Serving the Migrant Population in Colorado: How the Homelessness Crisis and Newcomer Crisis Intersect. Register:https://lnkd.in/dPXWyJqV It is estimated that over 40,000 migrants have arrived in Denver over the past year, more than any other city in the United States, per capita. They have often journeyed thousands of miles to the United States searching for work, improved living conditions, asylum, and humanitarian aid. Many are now part of the unhoused population in Colorado, the 8th least affordable state, and one with a massive deficit of affordable housing. The session will examine how homeless service providers and others are currently responding and what new solutions are needed to address this humanitarian and economic crisis.

🗯St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia has contacted leading Ministers in the Albanese Government to commend them for driving policy change and financial commitments aimed at improving the wellbeing of many Australians who continue to struggle with daily demands. 📒 ‘It was heartening to see recent funding announcements made for Homelessness Services ($73M) and the Financial Wellbeing and Capability program ($114.8M and $14.4M in 2023-24), which includes Emergency Relief. We called for this funding in our 2024 pre-budget submission,’ said the National President of St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia, Mark Gaetani. 📒 Key areas requiring further budgetary action include: 🌿Addressing the root cause of poverty by increasing income support payments. There is widespread acceptance of this priority. 🌿 Increasing Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 25% and reviewing the program. 🌿Offering people seeking asylum fair treatment and an adequate safety net while awaiting visa determination 🌿Funding to support finalisation and implementation of A Better Deal for Renters. You can support our advocacy by likes, comments and retweets🩵 Let's build a Fairer Australia - together! #Advocacy #AdvocacyMatters #Australia

Sky News reports an alarming increase in refugees facing homelessness, a direct result of recent government policy changes. These individuals face unique challenges beyond the struggle of homelessness: language barriers and limited knowledge of local systems. These policy decisions are creating unnecessary hardships and we call on policymakers to review these decisions, keeping in mind the human impact. https://lnkd.in/efVPMknH We aim to direct them to appropriate support services, and your involvement in spreading this word is crucial. https://lnkd.in/e5r4xm6X 

Recent actions by the Home Office to address a backlog of asylum cases have unfortunately resulted in a concerning surge in rough sleeping across multiple councils. A recent report by the Centre for Homelessness Impact and academics from the University of Huddersfield highlights this troubling trend, showing a staggering 223% increase in street homelessness among refugees leaving asylum accommodation between June and September. Urgent action is needed to address this pressing issue. Effective support structures are needed to prevent even more people from slipping through the cracks. 🏠 https://lnkd.in/epsH-EEf