106 - Helping an asylum seeker pay phone bill and buy warm clothes for winter - Dec 2022

 One of our members sent us a nomination telling us about a 68-year-old asylum seeker who was moved to Sheffield from another UK city by Migrant Help following eviction, and needed some help.


This lovely lady, who we will call Deborah, came into the country with family in 2013 hoping for a better life following a lifetime of abuse in her native country. However, since being in the UK she has encountered many challenges including family breakdown which resulted in her having to find alternate accommodation in a country she knew little about with no other means of support. 


She went on to find work for herself as she was keen to contribute, although sadly went on to be exploited by her employer which left her unable to pay her rent.


Prior to eviction, Deborah was living in what she described as a safe and secure community where she had forged friendships and regularly attended local groups. She received support from a mental health charity and was engaging with Local Area Coordination who helped with her asylum claim.


However, she sadly lost all of this when she was relocated to Sheffield, leaving her feeling depressed, lonely and isolated.   Since arriving here, Deborah has struggled to connect with the community and faced issues within shared accommodation including bullying.  This led to concerns over her vulnerability which resulted in her being moved to another property in a different area of the city. 


She was forced to start all over again with limited resources and funds, which as you can imagine has further impacted on her mental health and wellbeing.


Deborah’s nominator told us she had a £200 outstanding mobile phone bill, which she had no way of paying off, and without her phone it was hard for her to maintain contact with her support services.  She was also unable to bring the majority of her belongings with her when she was relocated, and so was also in desperate need of suitable winter clothing - which is hard to afford on the money she receives.


We were keen to help and liaised with her support workers to ensure she received assistance to sort out her outstanding phone bill and buy appropriate clothing for the winter.   


Vicki had the pleasure of meeting up with Deborah and her support worker to pass over your £500.  We don’t always get the chance to meet our recipients, but it is always a special moment when we do.  Deborah is such a delightful lady.  She was visibly moved by our help and wanted to pass on her huge gratitude to you all.  


We met at the beginning of December, before it got super cold, so we are pleased to know she would have been a little better equipped to deal with the brutal weather we all endured.


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