Building a Nation of Sanctuary – a joined up approach

Tai Pawb has been working in partnership with several other organisations on an exciting project called ‘Building the Nation of Sanctuary – a joined up approach’. This project aims to provide asylum seekers and other migrants with no recourse to public funds access to safe, secure, and decent homes as well as working to improve the sector as a whole.

Access to housing plays a crucial role in being able to (re)engage with a legal process to resolve a person’s precarious immigration status and move out of destitution. Access to housing is equally important for newly granted refugees who are at risk of homelessness to ensure they are able to integrate and begin to contribute to community and economy in Wales.

This project gives us the opportunity to work together in partnership to provide a cohesive joined up approach to prevent destitution and homelessness for refugees, people seeking asylum (and other migrants) in Wales.

To achieve the goals of the project several new roles have been created across the organisations:

Tai Pawb and Oasis Cardiff – Housing Development Manager 

Housing Justice Cymru – Hosting Coordinator 

This is a brief outline of the project’s aims:

• Tai Pawb and Oasis will work together to develop a pilot supported housing project designed to meet the needs of both newly granted refugees and asylum seekers left destitute but with no recourse to public funds.
• Housing Justice Cymru will work in partnership with exiting hosting projects to increase hosting provision across all four asylum dispersal areas through the recruitment of volunteer hosts, building capacity and establishing new local provision where there is no current provision.
• Move-on accommodation will be explored through existing Wallich services, and HJC Citadel Project and Faith in Affordable Housing. We will work in partnership with the wider housing and homelessness / refugee sectors and local authorities.
• Asylum seeking beneficiaries will be supported to engage with Asylum Justice to make progress with immigration cases. Refugee beneficiaries will be supported to engage with the Welsh Refugee Council’s move on, advocacy and signposting support.

This project will also facilitate referrals into Wallich progression programmes, including training, volunteering and employment opportunities as well as wider support services for those with the right to live and work in the UK.

During this project we will work together to gather evidence to support change for future policy and practice in Wales. We will work with and involve people with lived experience throughout the project including co-development and co-evaluation to ensure the people we support have a say in the changes needed and in measuring project success.