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News from Positive Action in Housing
Friday, 6 September 2019
Glasgow | AGM Conference - 25th October 2019
Positive Action in Housing's AGM Conference takes place in Glasgow on October 25th. This lively event brings together members , supporters, volunteers and service users to celebrate the past years achievements . AGM business will be followed by Speakers contributions. We are delighted to confirm that the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, Aileen Campbell, will be our keynote speaker. Further speakers to be confirmed. This will be followed by a networking lunch attended by Scottish housing associations, BME/Refugee organisations , non profits, faith groups and individuals with an interest in our work. The afternoon workshops will discuss the challenges for refugee, migrant and EU citizens rights, the impact of poverty and discrimination, and ways to further develop our one stop crisis services for destitute and homeless people from BME, refugee and migrant communities. (Pictured above is the Roma Band of Glasgow who will be playing at the AGM). Places are limited, to attend book here
NOTE TO ASYLUM SEEKERS IN GLASGOW
If you receive a "lock change" eviction letter from Serco, please contact our casework team on 0141 353 2220 and ask for an emergency appointment. Bring any legal/housing/ medical paperwork with you to the appointment. We will assist you in case Serco tries to evict you. We will help you prepare a Section 4 application and find legal/housing expertise to challenge Serco. If neccessary we can arrange shelter through our Room for refugees Network or provide crisis support grants. Click here for a free copy of our anti eviction resource pack. For more info please email home@positiveactionh.org
EU Citizens: Employees, Employers, Tenants, Landlords take note.
Concern have been raised in the press about the risk of another "Windrush" denial of rights to access work, housing, health care and benefits, if there is a no-deal Brexit on 31 October 2019 and freedom of movement ends.
The Home Office's EU Settlement Scheme will remain open until 31st of December 2020 but only for EU citizens who can prove they have been living in the UK before a no-deal Brexit.
More than 2 million EU citizens are yet to apply to the "settled status" scheme.
Employers, the NHS, Local Authorities, landlords (in England and Wales), DWP, HMRC, Border Force all have to check applicants' immigration statuses.
The difficulty of establishing status may mean people are more reluctant to offer work or services for fear of making a mistake checking status and committing a criminal offence. It also means that some EU Citizens could lose work or benefits if they can't prove residence in the future.
The3 Million, an organisation campaigning for the rights of EU citizens living in the UK, has raised the alarm that it "will open the door to discrimination" because it will very difficult to distinguish between those residents and new arrivals.
A Home Office factsheet says: "EU citizens have until at least 31 December 2020 to apply". Yet Home Office officials have already stated in a leaked internal memo that the ending of freedom of movement on 31st October runs the risk of another Windrush scandal on a grand scale.
To avoid this, EU Nationals and their family members are encouraged to apply for settled or pre-settled status through the EU Settlement Scheme before 31st October 2019. The online application takes around twenty minutes. If they have a chipped passport they can complete the application on an Android phone. The online application can also be done via iPhone, PC or laptop, if they are able to go to an ID checking office or send their proof of ID to the Home Office.
To get help to complete the forms, please email home@positiveactionh.org and one of the members of the New Migrants Action Project will be glad to help.
Support our work
In aid of destitute refugee and asylum seeking men and women in Glasgow, many of whom are fleeing war in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
Positive Action in Housing's Lifeline Service provides a one stop accommodation pathway for destitute and homeless refugees and asylum seekers in Glasgow.
Positive Action in Housing's Lifeline Service is working harder than ever to provide proactive homelessness advice, prepare Section 4 applications,arrange emergency crisis grants or shelter for people living in fear of destitution. The overall aim of the service is to help people to resolve their crisis and rebuild lives.
Since BTMyDonate closed last month, our charity has lost thousands of pounds worth of monthly donors.
We desperately need regular donors if we are to continue supporting vulnerable refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people from all over the world. We believe your money should go straight to the people who need it.
In Glasgow, for example, the charity is providing crisis advice, signposting and emergency relief grants each month to 100 families and individuals who have been told to get out of Serco accommodation. They include the elderly, the sick, heart patients and families with disabled adult children.
A monthly donation can help us sustain essential projects such as Lifeline, Room for Refugees and our Emergency Relief Fund. These projects have evolved over many years to help refugee and migrant communities facing a crisis.
A monthly donation of £10 (or more if you can afford it) will help us plan crisis support and make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of women, men, families and unaccompanied asylum seeking children supported by Positive Action in Housing. It will help us sustain projects such as Room for Refugees, our Emergency Relief Fund which distributed over £60,000 in 2018-19.
If you live in Glasgow, and have a spare room available for a few weeks, sign up at www.roomforrefugees.com and we will screen safely and match you with someone who needs breathing space to decide their options
As a small grassroots charity working proactively to provide advice, shelter and crisis support to hundreds of people affected by destitution each year, we depend on regular donations to help people rebuild their lives and campaign for human rights.
To set up a Direct Debit, click on this safe, secure CAF link
Or, set up a standing order through Internet Banking. Account details:: Name: Positive Action in Housing Ltd Sort Code: 82 20 00 Account: 00447398 (IBAN: GB08CLYD82200000447398 or BIC/SWIFT: CLYDGB21450)
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