Thanks to some very generous supporters, we have been able to open five BOAZhouses. Four are for destitute asylum seekers whose claims have been refused, and one for refugees with Leave to Remain in the UK. Three of them are in Moston, North Manchester, one in Rusholme, and one in Salford.

3 of our houses were bought at auction by supporters and renovated with the help of Freedom Properties, a Christian company. The supporter retains ownership and allows BOAZ to use the property free of charge. We then select the residents, furnish and maintain the properties, and pay the bills.

Currently we are accommodating in this way 6 Ethiopian women and 5 Eritrean women, 3 Ethiopian, 3 Congolese, 3 Eritrean, 1 Darfuri, 1 Malawian and 1 Guinean man - a total of 23 people. In early 2008 we are expecting 2 more houses to become available, taking the total to 29.

Nigel Biggs, Housing Manager, does a fabulous job not only looking after the buildings but also the residents. Other volunteers also offer support for residents - though we do need people to help us maintain the houses!

Our aim is to be able to offer every resident a choice of meaningful activities, whether it is volunteering with us or another charity, making beautiful craft items to help us raise funds, attending ESOL, IT and other training courses or tending our garden at Mora Street.

:: The Way Ahead: an exciting new partnership

In 2007 BOAZ began what we believe is a significant partnership with Green Pastures Housing from Southport. This amazing organisation has already made an big impact on homelessness, not only in Southport, but further afield. By encouraging supporters to invest in Green Pastures, we have been able to open our first Refugee House. This not only provides good accommodation to young men who would otherwise, at best, be in a hostel; it also provides BOAZ with finance from Housing Benefit, which is used to offset the costs of our houses for the destitute.

If you have money to invest, or savings in a bank or building society, why not consider putting it into Green Pastures, earmarked ‘for the use of BOAZ?’ Your money is still attracting interest, and benefiting asylum seekers at the same time.

>> Contact us using the information on the left of this page to discuss getting involved as a BOAZhouse project partner.