Homes and hope - Christmas Appeal 2022
Will you help us to provide a home and hope this Christmas time?
'Imagine if I didn’t have that house and I didn’t have that support from Boaz…'
Aimee, who has finally been granted her refugee status.
When we think of Christmas, the images that most readily come to mind might be those of friends and families celebrating together, grouped around a Christmas tree or a table laden with festive food. It might conjure up images of being wrapped up warm as we head out to enjoy carol concerts, or make a last dash for Christmas presents.
Yet we know that for many people in the UK, the reality of Christmas is very different. There will be too many people homeless; huddled inside shop doorways for warmth or sofa surfing on an acquaintance’s couch.
The people The Boaz Trust work with have already had to flee their own countries, often because of persecution and risk of torture. They arrive in the UK hoping for sanctuary, but without irrefutable proof, good legal support, and owing to huge delays in decision making, many people like Aimee can end up homeless, without money or support.
With your help, we can change this.
After Aimee’s asylum application was refused, she spent a period of several months destitute; forced to find a place to sleep wherever she could, despite the dangers she faced in doing so. It was an experience that she says made her lose her belief in her value as a human being and led to her developing depression and anxiety.
This is why housing, like that provided by Boaz, is so vital. Not only does it provide safety and sanctuary to individuals who would otherwise be homeless, having somewhere safe to stay also affords a person the dignity and respect that they deserve, as Aimee explains:
“Living in Boaz accommodation gave me the respect I deserve to have. It gave me back the person within me, which I lost before. In so many different ways I can say ‘I feel like this is my home.’ Even though it’s a room, sharing accommodation, those sisters I shared with became my family. Having a house changed a lot in me as a person. The most important thing is that it gave me back myself. I used to have depression and anxiety, but through that journey, having a house in Boaz, I said: ‘you know what? I can do much better.’ The person inside me needed to come out. I’ve become that great, powerful, inspiring, empowering woman and all because of Boaz. All because of the house they gave me. Honestly, I’m so grateful.”
Crucially, the stability that having a home provides also enables the people we support to connect with a lawyer and determine the possibilities of making a fresh asylum claim. We know from over 17 years experience that with the right kind of support many of the people we work with will eventually be granted leave to remain. And after so many years, this is what happened for Aimee.
“With the help of the case workers from Boaz and with the help of my lawyer, I was granted [refugee] status. So imagine if I didn’t have that house and I didn’t have that support from Boaz. That would have never, ever have happened. Boaz has the understanding that we go through a lot and they don’t count you as a number or as somebody who just lives in their accommodation. They treat you as a human being and they work alongside you to get what you’re aiming for.”
Your gift today can help Boaz provide this type of life changing support.
£30 could pay for a month’s internet connection for everyone living in one of the Boaz shared houses, so that they can keep in touch with their families and access vital information and forms.
£100 could enable people in a Boaz shared house to buy fresh food for a week.
Thank you so much for all of your support, it really does change lives.
Watch a special new film, where Aimee shares what a
difference a room in a Boaz house has made for her.
The Boaz Trust / Jarek Maciejowski