- A single refugee sleeping rough in central London, receiving medical treatment locally, was refused help because his previous asylum accommodation was in Leeds
- A refugee diagnosed with HIV and post-traumatic stress disorder was not acknowledged as in ‘priority need’ for homelessness assistance
- A female refugee from China who only speaks Mandarin, who has a six-year-old child in education, is evicted from asylum accommodation but gets no response from the local authority to her request for homelessness help
- A gay couple from Russia, with strong local connections in a London borough where one of them is receiving medical treatment, was offered accommodation in Durham
- A refugee family of four, reunited in London and needing temporary accommodation: they were offered a hotel room outside London which they refused, then could get no response from the London borough over the next six months.
Of course, CIH is also aware of the extreme pressures on local authorities, not least in London which has the second highest share of asylum accommodation after the North West.
Nevertheless, some councils are putting major efforts into easing refugees’ transition into secure housing. Islington Council has created an integration and inclusion officer role focussed on integrating refugees, working to prevent homelessness and providing wider support such as language courses and access to primary health care. The result has meant the council has “averted a huge amount of homelessness”.
In Bristol, Ashley Community & Housing have helped around 100 refugees by fitting out short-life properties as one-bedroom furnished flats. Micro Rainbow continues to provide safe accommodation in different regions for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers who can transition out of it once their asylum claims are decided.
Back in London, Glass Door Homeless Charity have reported high levels of use by new refugees of their night shelters, and of the raised expectations for integrating refugees now that the Home Office is appointing asylum move-on liaison officers in Barnet, Brent, Hounslow and Hillingdon. A newly established London Asylum Move-On Working Group should help to ensure the vital coordination needed between agencies to make full use of the 56-day move-on period.
But it’s obvious from the cases mentioned at the beginning – and hundreds more – that many new refugees aren’t getting the help they need. In part this is because of the pressures caused by a huge accommodation shortage, but it’s clear that another element is uncertainty or gaps in knowledge about refugees’ housing entitlements. That’s why CIH, via our Housing Rights website, offers clear advice on these entitlements, both to refugees themselves and to advisers and housing officers who need technical guidance. It also shows how migrants who fall into destitution can be helped to get back on their feet, and keeps up to date with pressing issues like evictions from hotels and helping refugees establish a local connection when they need homelessness help.
From working with those who are helping refugees it’s clear three things are vitally important. First, advisers and housing officers need to know the law. Second, they need to appreciate the vulnerability of refugees who are fending for themselves for the first time, have not been allowed to work, may not have been able to learn English and know little about housing and other services. Third, rather than just responding to potential homelessness as it arises, councils and housing associations could offer positive support to refugees and coordinate with other services to ease their transition. The examples in this article from London, Bristol and elsewhere show how it can be done.
John Perry is a policy adviser at the Chartered Institute of Housing.
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