The asylum process is tough for anyone, but it can be especially challenging for families. We give children and parents a helping hand on their asylum journey.
Since launching in 2021, our Family Rights Service has supported 175 newly arrived families – including 324 children – to understand the complex asylum system and begin rebuilding their lives in Scotland.
Our Case Managers are their to support families at every step on their journey, helping them to access healthcare and education, find legal and financial support and make connections in their new communities.
Aisha’s story
Aisha (not her real name) and her family fled their home country to escape persecution. She arrived in Glasgow to claim asylum with her husband and their seven-year-old child.
Exhausted, traumatised and unable to make sense of the complex asylum system, Aisha called our national helpline for advice. We assigned the family a case manager to reassure and support them on their asylum journey.
Aisha’s husband is a survivor of torture and the whole family were anxious and traumatised by their experiences. We referred them to mental health services and put her husband in touch with Freedom From Torture where he is getting specialist support.
The family have relatives in Glasgow and are keen to stay in the city. The Home Office moved them to a room in an asylum hotel. Aisha and her partner struggled with the cramped living conditions and lack of space for their child to play.
People in hotel accommodation are entitled to £9.58 a week to pay for essentials like clothes, shoes, medicine and public transport. But due to Home Office delays, Aisha and her family still haven’t received a single payment.
The family were also struggling to eat the meals provided by a Home Office contractor at their hotel. But with no cooking facilities, and no money, Aisha couldn’t prepare her own food. She lost a lot of weight.
We helped Aisha and her family apply for an emergency grant to keep them going until their Home Office payments arrive. We also put them in touch with a social worker to help them get the right support and pushed for them to be moved to more suitable accommodation.
After four and a half months in the hotel, Aisha and her family were offered accommodation within a local community. We have put them in touch with a nearby foodbank and are helping them settle into their new area.
With our help, Aisha has enrolled her child at school and applied for free school meals and a grant to pay for school clothes. We also helped the family apply for a grant so they could buy a laptop and access vital online services and support.
We’re helping Aisha and her family prepare for Home Office interviews, making sure they understand what is happening at each step in the process and feel supported along the way.
Working closely with JustRight Scotland and Latta & Co solicitors, we aim to help families like Aisha’s get refugee protection in Scotland and feel safe and secure in their new communities.
Find out more about our support for newly arrived families
