… we're asking supporters of Positive Action in Housing to make an end of year or ongoing contribution in support of our humanitarian work. Since the refugee crisis revived global media attention in 2015, the number of volunteers supporting our work has grown by many thousands. We receive around 100,00 visits each month to our website, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram pages. Over seven thousand volunteers between Scotland, England and the USA have stepped forward to offer spare rooms in their homes to men, women and children from refugee backgrounds. Over 540 caseworkers from refugee and homelessness organisations have registered with us to seek crisis support for their service users. We have successfully placed over 500 refugee families, children and individuals in the homes of our volunteers. Our first US placement began last month in Chicago, Illinois, working with Refugee One, Chicago's biggest refugee resettlement organisation. Through our money advice work, we have skilled up hundreds of refugee and migrant households to know about managing money and making savings. Over £3M was put back into the Scottish economy. Working closely with the Roma community in Glasgow's Govanhill, we are providing advice and casework on employability, self employment, setting up homework clubs with local schools, and showcasing Roma music and unique culture as a way of challenging racism and prejudice against the people from this community. We successfully led the campaign to stop Rupert Soames and SERCO from changing locks on the homes of 330 new refugees and asylum seekers at varying stages of the asylum process without following due process and making whole families destitute on the streets of Glasgow so that they could carry out their asylum contract for the UK government. Next month sees the fight for human rights go to the Court of Session to decide whether a multinational corporation turning human beings out onto the streets without due process is the act of a civilised society. In 2019, we will be seeking an approach that allows us to bring in more supporters of our ethos, continue strong, independent campaigns and widen our humanitarian work geographically, to enable people from refugee and migrant communities to rebuild their lives and stand on their own resources. This and so much more. See the infographic on our latest annual report for more of our results. Several hundred individuals and organisations - especially registered social landlords, housing associations, trade unions, non profits, faith groups, private companies, trusts and foundations - have now supported our independent, humanitarian work through donations, membership or advertising, which has played such an important part in helping Positive Action in Housing pay for its services. We want to thank you for all of your support. But we have to maintain and build on that support for every year to come. Sustained support from our supporters means we can continue pursuing difficult campaigns in challenging times, when "speaking truth to power" has never been more critical. No one steers our views. Your support means we can continue helping people to have hope and rebuild their lives and ultimately bring hope and good to the world. Please make an end of year contribution today to help us continue to deliver the help the world needs for 2019 and beyond. Support Positive Action in Housing from as little as £1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. |