Impact: Homelessness & housing

Our Impact: Resolving homelessness and housing issues

Homelessness and housing insecurity is built into the asylum system. We provide specialist support to people seeking asylum who are experiencing/ at risk of homelessness or living in accomodation that is unsafe or unsuitable. We reach high numbers of people, with a strong track record…

How we do this…

Advice and Casework

Our Caseworkers and Outreach Advisors use their specialist knowledge of asylum seekers’ rights and the UK housing system to prevent and resolve homelessness and complex housing issues. We…

• Support people seeking asylum who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness to access the housing they are entitled to.
• Ensure people seeking asylum who are inappropriately housed have access to safe and suitable accommodation.
• Challenge decisions to ensure people seeking asylum are not wrongfully forced into homelessness.
• Work with partners to ensure wrap-around support, and to prevent and resolve homelessness for asylum seekers, newly granted refugees, and refused asylum seekers.

62% of people supported across our services require housing advice. 91% of housing cases are resolved/ make significant progress. 

“They explain things clearly, give accurate information, and I feel they genuinely want to help. It gives me confidence when making decisions.” 

Welcome Drop-In

Our twice weekly Welcome Drop-Ins are a warm community space, supporting asylum seekers experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity to meet their essential needs, manage the everyday impacts of poverty and feel part of a community. Our support includes:

• Hot community meals
• Emergency food vouchers
• Wellbeing activities
• Referrals and support to access additional services (e.g. GP, mental health services and community activities)
• Free haircuts to protect dignity
• Access to free wi-fi
• Information and signposting
• Volunteering Project

96% feel less isolated and 90% have improved wellbeing.

“My wellbeing and mood have improved since being supported by BRR. I feel more hopeful and less alone. The help I received made a real difference in how I see my situation and future.”

Pride Without Borders

Pride Without Borders (PWB) provides specialist support for LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum, including housing support and advice. We…

• Work with our Advice Team to support PWB members experiencing homelessness/ housing insecurity to access safe and suitable accomodation.
• Work with partners to improve safety in asylum support accomodation for LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers in Bristol.
• Empower PWB members to collate detailed evidence for their asylum claims, and provide evidence ourselves where we can. A successful asylum claim significantly reduces the risk of homelessness.
• Provide advice on the Move-On process once PWB members receive refugee status to prevent street homelessness and ensure they understand how to rent/ access housing.

90% of PWB members who have refugee status received this after our help.

“Your kindness, patience and strength have been a light in what often feels like a difficult and uncertain journey.”

Project CLEAR

Project CLEAR provides long-term, personalised, holistic casework and support for asylum seekers and migrants facing homelessness/ complex housing issues due to multiple disadvantage. This includes people facing long-term street homelessness, severe mental and physical health conditions, disabilities and/or domestic violence. We offer…

• Specialist support for people with complex needs who have fallen through the cracks and need more intensive support to resolve homelessness and rebuild their lives.
• Support to resolve complex immigration issues which are the underlying cause of long-term homelessness, resulting in access to more sustainable and safer housing.

“I would have been lost. Project CLEAR has helped me a lot, from the Home Office affairs, to finding a solicitor, from my mental health to my social life.”

Second-tier Advice

Our impact goes beyond the people we directly support. We are considered experts locally on homelessness issues relating to asylum seekers and other migrants and regularly take referrals from and provide second-tier advice to voluntary and statutory organisations in the region.

Last year, we provided over 100 instances of second-tier advice.

“There is no other group doing what BRR do in the South West. They plug the lacuna. Their services are absolute vital and specialist.” – Sector Partner

Case study

When we met Zahra and Hamza, they had recently arrived in the UK to seek asylum with their three young children. Zahra was 7 months pregnant and the family were living with Fatima’s brother and his family in Bristol in an overcrowded house.

The family were living in poverty and had no income – Hamza and Zahra had no right to work, and they were fearful of applying for asylum support in case they were moved out of Bristol, away from Zahra’s brother. The family were not accessing any health services, including maternity. The children were showing signs of trauma because of their experiences prior to arriving in the UK.

One of our caseworkers made an urgent referral to the Haven so the family’s health could be assessed and an onward referral could be made to community midwives for urgent antenatal care.

Our caseworker then took the family through their asylum support options. They also supported them to access hot meals at our Welcome Drop-In and emaergency support so Hamza and Zahara could buy food for their children whilst they waited to recieve their asylum support payments. We successfully submitted an application for emergency accommodation, requesting the Home Office house them in Bristol, due to their existing engagement with health services and family connections.

Our Welcome Team provided bus tickets to the family to reduce the risk of social isolation and increase their independence around the city. We also supported them to access clothes and a Baby Bank, apply for school places for the children, and access support from the Health Visiting Team and Children’s Nurses.

The family are now living in safe and suitable Initial Accommodation in Bristol whilst they wait for the outcome of their asylum claim. The children have the mental health support they need, have settled in at school, and are eagerly waiting for the arrival of their new sibling.