Dear Friends
1) can you offer a room?
· A local agency has been in touch to ask if we can find a host for a male asylum seeker who is due to become destitute at the end of this month. He’s currently seeking a new application for section 95 support, but will have no accommodation from the 30th January and he has no friends or family that can support him while his asylum claim is being processed.
· Another agency rang who are working with a female asylum seeker, currently in Liverpool but having no luck finding accommodation there. She is willing to travel to anywhere that maybe able to help her.
Please contact us if you think you might be able to help, and we can arrange to let you know more.
(NB both these two requests were just received in one afternoon, before we have even started to advertise the service! There are currently at least 28 other destitute refused asylum seekers in Bolton)
2) can we add you to our list of potential hosts?
If you may be able to offer a room to these or similar guests, we need you to fill out a basic hosting application form. The latest version is available on request.
We will then send you a hosting guide and arrange to meet up with you to discuss things. So far 8 households have expressed interest in hosting – but only 3 have completed the hosting forms.
If you cannot host at present, we need other people who can offer to befriend or cook meals, and we need funding so we can offer to buy bus passes and help hosts out with the cost of food – all donations welcome! (Cheques payable to City of Sanctuary Bolton c/o Friends Meeting House, Silverwell Street Bolton BL1 1PP)
3) do you know anyone who could volunteer to help us with the launch of the hosting scheme?
We are urgently looking for someone to volunteer to spend one or two days per week working with us as an unpaid co-ordinator for the scheme – details on request. A tough but very rewarding role. Please consider if you could do this, or know anyone else who might be suitable. We need a CV and short expression of interest, sent to this email address [email protected] by 5pm on Weds 8th February.
4) next steps
We had a really interesting open meeting recently with Angie & Dave from Eccles, who are inspiring hosts with Boaz Trust. Our next meeting for potential hosts is again at the Friends Meeting House, Bolton on Thursday 9th February at 7.30pm – please come if you are free, all welcome.
Best Wishes
Ian
Ian McHugh
on behalf of City of Sanctuary Bolton – Hosting Project
https://bolton.cityofsanctuary.org/