Across Glasgow and other towns and cities in Scotland, we are providing support to refugee and asylum seeker families and individuals from countries including Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Zimbabwe, Ukraine and others.
Our goal is to help people rebuild their lives after a crisis and not need our support in the long term. During this time of hardship, we provide support with bus travel, phone top ups, food, clothes, shelter and digital tech. This is the first country-wide crisis appeal to prioritise the most vulnerable amongst our refugee communities.
Each year we support over 4,000 refugees and asylum-seeking men women, and children to rebuild their lives and overcome the blocks put in their path by the Home Office.
Many have fled war or persecution in their own countries, risking their lives on dangerous journeys to find sanctuary, leaving loved ones behind.
The overwhelming majority of people we support are living in extreme poverty. The cost-of-living crisis is making things much harder.
Dec 2024: 24 year old Iman* is surviving with her two disabled children in a hotel room for over a year now (location witheld). She is forbidden to seek work, and is unable to rebuild her life in temporary accommodation. The family receive one plate to cover all three of them. She receives a total of £25 a week which she uses to feed her young children as the food in the hotel is unsuitable for their diet. £4 of this is spent on bus fares going to college twice a week to learn English. She was forced to leave Syria after her husband was abducted by government forces. She has not heard from him for four years. she assumes the worst, that he has been tortured and killed.
The people we are supporting are amongst the most vulnerable of the most vulnerable. They include malnourished pregnant women and new mothers who are expected to survive on just over £8 a week; war refugees, victims of trafficking and survivors of torture; cancer patients with no family to support them; families struggling to keep the lights on and feed their children and keep them warm. And people who are struggling with chronic illnesses in isolation.
We are providing crisis support in the form of vouchers for baby items, clothes, food, and shelter to ensure people in vulnerable and at-risk groups are not left hungry, cold, disconnected, or isolated from essential support.
We are prioritising those at risk of exploitation: unaccompanied children, families, pregnant women, new mothers, the elderly, and people with physical/mental health issues. We will target those left in hotels for months living on only £1.40 a day.
Our mission is to help people rebuild their lives after a crisis so they can get on with their lives. Our pioneering approach has produced life-transforming outcomes.
In 2024, our Lifeline Service provided advice, shelter and crisis support at crucial stages in refugee resettlement. We provided shelter through volunteer hosts for refugees from Palestine, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine. We distributed almost £140K from our Emergency Relief Fund, a genuine lifeline.
This is a direct giving appeal. All gift aid from this appeal will go towards running our core humanitarian activities.
* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.
