Number crunching!
Recently we have been doing a bit of number crunching to generate some stats for our annual report, and the results have been encouraging.
From April 2009 to March 2010 we had 230 referrals, with most of the asylum seekers coming from Afghanistan, DR Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Zimbabwe. 43% of those referred were street homeless, and 27% were sofa-surfing between friends who would take pity on them.
The Boaz Trust was able to provide safe longer term accommodation in our houses to 56 people. We also offered shorter term placements with local host families to a further 40 people. Plus 59 men benefited from our winter night shelter.
We gave out 971 food parcels to our residents, and refunded 1338 bus fares, allowing our clients to access healthcare and solicitors and to attend our English and sewing classes. 19 residents from our houses and hosts were able to get Home Office support again as they moved on with their cases, and 10 current and former clients received leave to remain in the UK!
Thank you for all your support which enables us to make a real difference in the lives of destitute asylum seekers. This afternoon I asked Yezna, one of our hosted* clients, what Boaz has done for her and this is what she said:
“Boaz has helped me a lot. They have given me a home with a family and English classes and I am really happy. They helped me with everything.”
*We would love to offer this opportunity to more asylum seekers like Yezna but our space is limited. If you are in Greater Manchester and could offer a spare room to a destitute asylum seeker for a few days, weeks or months please do get in touch on 0161 202 1056 or office@boaztrust.org.uk to find out more.
