A bed. A room. A key. And someone to listen.
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I finally felt safe. I could breathe again.
That’s how Maria* describes the day she first stepped into her Boaz home.
Before then, life was hard. “Everything felt uncertain - lonely, tiring, like I was just waiting, not knowing what would come next,” Maria says. “I didn’t always know where I would stay, and it felt like my life was on hold.”
So many people who come to the UK seeking safety know that feeling. It’s like holding your breath: waiting, sometimes for years, for a decision. Very rarely allowed to work. Often not knowing where you’ll try to sleep at night.
Then Maria was given a key. “I had a bed, a room, a key, a place that was mine. For the first time in a long time, I could sleep without worrying.”
Today, Maria is studying health and social care. She hopes to become a mental health nurse, “to help others the way I have been helped.”
This Christmas, you can give someone else that same room to breathe.
It has been a hard year for people seeking sanctuary. Here in Greater Manchester, racist intimidation has reached people’s front doors, with a spike in targeted attacks on shared houses (HMOs). This Christmas, a safe place to breathe is needed more than ever.
Stepping into that house — I finally felt safe. I could breathe again. I had a bed, a room, a key — a place that was mine. For the first time in a long time, I could sleep without worrying.
- Maria*
When we leave our homes without papers, escaping war and violence, we are not immigrating illegally. We are surviving. We leave everything behind; our families, homes, our whole lives — just to stay alive.
- Fishe-get* has been in the UK for more than a decade and is still waiting for status.
Give room to breathe all year round. A monthly gift of £25 helps people seeking sanctuary find safety, rest and support every month of the year.
Give monthly
Remember: If you’re a UK taxpayer, Gift Aid adds 25p to every £1 you give, at no extra cost to you.
*Names changed to protect identities and quotes shared with full consent
