introduction to lassn march16
TRANSCRIPT
AN INTRODUCTION TO LASSN March 16
WHO IS A REFUGEE?A refugee is as a person who has fled … due to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of racereligionnationalitymembership of a particular social groupor political opinion
Article 1, The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
Source: UNHCR, 2015; Home Office, 2016
020,000,00040,000,00060,000,000
59,500,000
20,200,000
32,454 11,419
UK ASYLUM CLAIMS BY COUNTRY: TOP 10
*
*
*
Source: Home Office, 2016
IranIraq
SyriaEritrea
AfghanistanPakistan
SudanBangladesh
AlbaniaIndia
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600
HOW ARE ASYLUM SEEKERS, REFUGEES (& EU MIGRANTS) DIFFERENT?
Asylum seeker
Refugee EU migrants
UK Govt have accepted their right to stay in UK
Permission to Work Access to mainstream welfare systems Permissions to travel abroad Choose where to live Ability to use NHS for free
/? /?Nb: There are some exceptions to this picture, but this is the simplified version
WHO ENDS UP STAYING?About 35% of applications are accepted as refugees, 5% are given temporary rights to remain, and 60% refused
About 50% of people appeal against their decision
About 30% of these appeals are successful
Source: Home Office, 2016
WHERE DO PEOPLE END UP? In Q4 2015 about 34,000 destitute asylum seekers were supported by the UK Govt
North West is largest dispersal area (where asylum seekers are placed, pending decisions) – 8,076
In December 2015, Leeds had 645 asylum seekers
Source: Home Office, 2016
WHO ARE LASSN & WHAT DO WE DO?Leeds Asylum Seeker Support Network started in 2000
5 part time members of staff268 volunteers
All our work is about Supporting Empowering Integrating
THE POWER OF OUR WORK IS BASED ON THE POWER OF RELATIONSHIPS We help ordinary people to do amazing things by Opening their homes Sharing a meal Spending time with someone Listening Having conversations Sharing stories and experiencesOur volunteers get back as much as they give
IN 2014/15 LASSN SUPPORTED 280 PEOPLE
662 people, if you include people’s families)To learn English in their own homes
1,500 hours of teaching to 86 different peopleTo reduce isolation through our befriending scheme 98 different people
By providing temporary accommodation to people with nowhere to go through Grace Hosting more than 3,800 nights to 96 different people
INFORMATION AND AWARENESS
We trained 70 new volunteersWe reached more than 10,000 people via social media
8 exiled journalists to collaborate with 10 student journalists on www.oneworldleeds.org
Supported the development of www.leedsmultiagency.org.uk
WHERE DOES LASSN FIT IN LEEDS?
Legal Advice/Immigration
Manuel Bravo
CAB
Advocacy Support
Asylum Help
Health
York Street
Solace/ Freedom
from Torture
PAFRAS
Women’s Health
Befrienders
Destitution
PAFRAS Drop Ins
Meeting Point
LASSN Grace
Hosting
Info/Campaigning
City of Sanctuary
Regional Asylum Activism
Migration Yorkshire
LASSN Directory, One World
Leeds
Language/Employment
RETAS
St Vincent de Paul
LASSN English at
Home
Social Contact
Leeds Refugee Forum
RETAS
LASSN Befriending
SOME RECENT CHANGES THAT ARE ON OUR MIND
UK asylum figures do not reflect the Refugee Crisis in Europe. The Immigration Bill threatens to remove Home Office support
to families with Children. Changes to NHS access: some people are already being
charged for NHS hospital treatment, and there are plans to charge for GP appointments and treatment
Reduction in Asylum Support paid to destitute families by Home Office
Trafficking: people who are brought to the UK, and forced to work under threat of violence by organised criminal gangs
Less Advice and Legal Support available (cuts to Legal Aid)
THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP? Understand more about the reality of refugees and people
seeking asylum - and share this with people you know How could your church be more welcoming to people seeking
refuge? Ask us to come and speak to your church or group Volunteer - there’s a list of opportunities at
www.leedsmultiagency.org.uk/time Support us financially – donations make up 20% of our income
Support our friends eg PAFRAS with Harvest Festival donations to their food bank/clothing store
Assist us to lobby for change at a local level Make contact with City of Sanctuary Lobby for change through your local councillors & MPs
