QSA families given ten days to leave
'They now find themselves in another form of temporary accommodation, or otherwise homeless, and facing another form of uncertainty.’
Two families from the Quaker Social Action (QSA) Cook Up project have been given ten days or fewer to leave their accommodation. This is despite rules that say refugees claiming asylum should be given at least twenty-eight days’ notice to leave any accommodation provided by the Home Office.
The Cook Up programme provides kitchen space for people who do not have access to cooking facilities. This includes people experiencing homelessness, and people seeking asylum, who are housed in temporary accommodation, often hotel rooms. Development workers on the project say they have seen a rise in participants facing eviction. Uncertain housing futures are affecting people’s emotional – and sometimes physical – health, they say.
According to QSA, councils are being overwhelmed with the number of people approaching them to make homelessness applications. In the space of twenty-eight days, these asylum seekers must apply for Universal Credit, look for employment, and find alternative housing.
‘Migrants’ rights organisations and law centres are doing everything they can to support people in trying circumstances,’ said Sean McNamara, development worker for Cook Up.
‘We have had three families from Cook Up approach us asking for support on this issue… One of those families, who have fled war in the Middle East, have two children attending school; their son was planning to take exams for his GCSEs this year.’
After they were evicted, the family was initially moved to temporary accommodation in a different borough in London, over an hour and a half from their children’s school. They are now in temporary accommodation slightly closer. The other family includes a father whose health issues are being made worse by the food provided in their asylum accommodation. The husband’s health issues were not considered serious enough for him to be given priority need for homelessness support from the local council, which means the family is not entitled to much support.
‘We do not share this to garner sympathy, we have spent many hours in the kitchen with them and we know how resilient they are,’ writes Sean McNamara. ‘However, as a team, we have struggled seeing the impact this has had on them. This is a moment they have been looking forward to for a very long time, to not be stuck waiting in temporary accommodation for a decision and to be able to begin building a new life in safety. But because they have been unable to work and because they had to leave everything behind, they have few resources to build a new life and certainly cannot be expected to do so within twenty-eight days, let alone ten. They now find themselves in another form of temporary accommodation, or otherwise homeless, and facing another form of uncertainty.’
QSA highlighted that many people are struggling with living costs and housing uncertainty at the moment, with nearly 138,930 children in homeless accommodation in England as of June 2023. This is not an issue that only affects asylum seekers, say QSA, but ‘it does seem more harsh only because they hoped to find safety and security after fleeing violence but instead face homelessness and precarious futures’.
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