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Each winter a group of voluntary organizations in Leeds operates a Hardship Fund to provide limited financial support to those in greatest need.
The fund provides small subsistence donations to destitute asylum seekers who have no income at all (for a single person, £25 per week, £40 for couple and usually for 4 weeks maximum).
The Fund is managed and run by Leeds Hardship Fund Steering Group, which comprise representatives of referral organizations (PAFRAS, British Red Cross, Meeting Point, Solace, LASSN and RETAS) and Leeds Refugee Forum who manages the Fund but does not make referrals.
Why the Winter Hardship Fund?
There’s been a rapid increase in the number of destitute Asylum seekers in Leeds and Yorkshire area.
Indeed, it is impossible to quantify the actual number of destitute asylum seekers in Leeds because of lack of data, fear of been caught and deported, the mobility and change of support and the main factor: lack of trust within the hostility environment.
Many destitute asylum seekers are left to seek out accommodation through support networks or charities. Most of them are supported be co-national who are refugees and some of them are asylum seekers. Refugee Communities (RCOs) are the main supporter by offering shelter, short and long stay, sharing food and very limited financial support. This leaves them with poor access to food support and healthcare.
