April 16, 2012 / by lucy / Make A Comment / Filed under Asylum, Destitution, Donate, Endurance, Events, Food
Did you know- 50% of our clients rely on the Red Cross for their food each week. We have now come to the end of the Lent Endurance Challenge this year and can announce with great delight that we have raised over £1150 so far! The even better news is there is still time to donate- click here to go to the Team Boaz page…
To everyone who has taken part, well done! We’d love your feedback on how you found the experience- what did you miss the most? What did you think of the parcel? How did you use 250g of salt?! Stories from participants to follow in the next few weeks.
April 4, 2012 / by lucy / Make A Comment / Filed under Asylum, News
Boaz has recently signed the ‘Every Single Woman’ Charter, which states that:
“Women come to the UK to seek protection from a range of human rights abuses abroad. Whilst some of their experiences, such as being detained for their political activities, are the same as men’s, some of their experiences are gender specific. Many have suffered, or are at risk of, gender persecution, including rape or sexual violence, honour crimes, forced marriage, domestic violence or female genital mutilation in countries where the state fails to protect them.
In leaving behind everything that is familiar these women show remarkable courage.
They deserve to be treated in a way that recognises their particular needs as women and how their asylum claims are affected by their gender.
All asylum seekers have the right to be treated consistently, with fairness, dignity and respect in accordance with the UK’s obligations under the international refugee and human rights conventions.
For women, this means:
1- women seeking asylum have the right to have their protection claims determined by an asylum system in the UK that is informed, in all aspects of its policy and operations, by a thorough understanding of the particular forms of persecution and human rights abuses that women experience because of their gender and of their particular needs as women;
2- women seeking asylum have the right to an asylum determination process that recognises and takes into account their experiences of persecution and human rights abuses;
3- women seeking asylum have the right to accommodation, support and healthcare appropriate to their particular needs as women;
4- women seeking asylum have the right to be treated with dignity in a way that is appropriate to their needs as women and that ensures their safety if in detention or during removal.”
We are delighted to be endorsing this Charter and will be encouraging other organisations to do the same. So far 280+ have signed!
April 3, 2012 / by lucy / Make A Comment / Filed under Asylum, Destitution, Housing, News
This year’s winter night shelter, since November 2011, has been in very high demand, and as it begins to draw to a close (it finishes at the end of April) we would like to thank everyone who has made it happen.
The night shelter has accommodated 40 individuals since it opened on November 1st, and has been fully booked every night since Christmas. Suzannah, our night shelter coordinator, has done a fantastic job of working with our male clients, supporting them to access legal help and accommodation support as far as possible.
We are really grateful to the volunteers at each of the seven churches that have hosted week in, week out, for the last 5 months and to the British Red Cross who made it all possible financially!
We are still hoping to start a permanent night shelter sometime in the future, and ask for your prayers as we seek funding and progress with this.
Finally, for any agencies looking to refer in, please note we are no longer taking referrals for the night shelter- this ended as of 31st March. We are taking referrals for our standard accommodation services but please note we have a long waiting list.
If you’d like to join our hosting scheme, we would love to hear from you! Please contact the office on 0161 2021056 or email hosting@boaztrust.org.uk. Thank you!
