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!

If you’re interested in hosting asylum seekers and you live in Salford, please come to a Salford Hosting Information Evening on Wednesday January 18th 2012. This event is organised by the Boaz Trust and United for Change.

The event will be taking place from 7.15pm – 9.00pm (refreshments from 7.00pm) at Pendleton Gateway Centre, Community Rooms 1&2, 1 Broadwalk, Salford M6 5FX (near Salford Shopping Centre).

All welcome! For details please contact Joyce, or go to our contacts page.

For full details, please download the following attachment:

Salford Hosting A4 Poster

Suzannah is the latest person to join the Boaz team, and she has the task of overseeing groups of volunteers at each of the seven churches that are participating this year, as well as managing referrals into the shelter itself. She is a great asset to the team and we’re enjoying having her in the office most days!

This year we have seen 9 men supported so far through the night shelter- some have come every night, others have only stayed for 1 night. Each person has a different situation, but all are refused asylum seekers, who have no recourse to public funds.

We’re hugely grateful to all the volunteers who have been so dedicated to the cause, and also to the British Red Cross who have provided the majority of the funding for the shelter this year. Without this support we would have really struggled, so thank you!

Interview with Suzannah to follow… watch this space!

The team (which will be different each day) is going to be doing loads of different stuff, including DIY in some of our houses, helping with the monthly Free Shop, running a coffee morning (with an African music workshop and more!) and taking clients out on day trips.

They are also running our biggest Boaz Dinner Party on Saturday 29th October, with an estimated 100 guests, which is amazing. We’re very grateful to them for their interest and enthusiasm about working with asylum seekers, and can’t wait to see what next week will bring!

Boaz hosts generously offer their spare rooms as a safe place for an asylum seeker to stay for days, weeks or even months. It is a truly remarkable and life-saving service and we’re very grateful to each and every one!

Our network is currently operating at capacity, with 10 clients being accommodated in this way. As a result, we’re looking to expand our hosting network to enable us to help a greater number of vulnerable people.

If you would like to find out more about hosting with Boaz please join us for a Hosting Information Evening on Monday 17th October at 7.30 p.m. at 110 Oldham Road, Ancoats M4 6AG.

For further details or to let us know that you are planning to come, please contact Cat Arundale on 0161 202 1056, or email her by clicking here.

Finally, please feel free to download one of our info posters to display in your church or community centre! Just click on this link for the PDF copy (or contact Cat to get one sent out):

Hosting evening poster

• Washing machine
• Electric Cooker
• Bed
• Fridge and Freezer
• Wardrobe
• Dining Table
• Dressing Table
• Microwave
• TV
• Carpet / Lino for flooring

Please contact Mark at the Boaz Trust if you can offer any of the above items for our client- she is in real need!

The Boaz Trust would ideally like to run a permanent night shelter, but until that is possible we have committed to providing this annual winter service. The shelter began on 1st November 2010 and finishes this week. If you have a spare room in your house that could provide an urgent place of security and shelter for one of the twelve current residents of the night shelter, please get in touch.

If you would like to find out more about how you can play a part in next year’s night shelter, please contact the office on 0161 2021056.

Where are you from and why do you work for Boaz?

‘I came to the UK as an asylum seeker from Eritrea in 2003, and was granted leave to remain the following year. It’s great helping people in need. As someone who has been an asylum seeker myself, I know the problems people go through- depression, worries, not being able to find a place to stay. It gives me a lot of satisfaction to help people when I understand their pain.’

‘The Boaz Trust has a great vision to help people who have lost their home, country, identity, courage, self value, to help them in any way with most of the needs they have. God provides for their needs through the Boaz Trust, just like Boaz did for Ruth in the story in the Bible.’

How does the Night Shelter help meet these needs?

‘There are 8 night shelters across the city, and at each one we provide a comfortable environment. When volunteers show them care and consideration this gives them a lot of peace, understanding that there are people who pray for them and care about them, cook them food and get involved in their personal lives…

The venues hold up to 12 people each night. The people we support come from Nigeria, Guinea, Sudan, Iran, China, Egypt, Eritrea and Pakistan.’

What does a typical night look like in the Night Shelter?

‘The shelters all open at 9 pm. Our residents arrive and are served tea and coffee, followed by hot food which is provided by the volunteers. They get cake or dessert after dinner in a very comfortable environment, and they can watch the TV. The food is very good; they eat chicken and rice, or vegetables, pasta, lasagne…

By 10:30 most people go to bed. They sleep in a different room, where there are mattresses and sleeping bags. The sleeping materials were provided by the churches who host the night shelters, and some items were bought by Boaz last year. We had to buy more because of high demand.

Every fortnight on a Monday, a doctor comes to the night shelter to assess medical problems. Most clients use this resource, because of problems from sleeping rough or spending time in the cold, like bronchitis.

Breakfast is at 8:00 and then everyone has to leave the venue by 9 am, as the church venues are used during the day time.’

We’re very grateful to Asmerom as well as all the churches, volunteers and donors who keep our night shelters running.

If you want to get involved in the work of the night shelter, or you know of a venue that we could use in the future, please email us.

You may remember the success of the Winter Night Shelter last year, a vital provision over the cold months for 59 male street-homeless asylum seekers. We are keen to secure funding and venues to get it underway again next month, and will need to raise £8000 for the months ahead. A substantial contribution from the British Red Cross means the night shelter will cost around £300 a week to run this year, and we are open to contributions, little or large!

Particularly if you have sleeping bags or inflatable mattresses, please get in touch on 0161 202 1056.

We would also like to welcome Asmerom Gebru to the team, as the Winter Night Shelter Coordinator!

One of our long-term service users, F., an asylum seeker from Eritrea, said this about the impact of the night shelter in his experience: “When they closed my case it was a problem… It was winter and cold and I had no money in my pocket… Boaz put me into the night shelter and then into a house. [The Boaz Trust] is the best organisation because they take people from the street and give them shelter”.