From our centre in East London, we offer practical, legal, and casework support to refugees – who we come to know as our friends – as well as a safe space for people to come and have respite, learn new skills, and spend time in community.
Our practical support aims to meet the needs of our refugee friends, who have No Recourse to Public Funds and are Appeals Rights Exhausted. Most are not entitled to government support. Those who come to see us are often struggling with homelessness or hunger.
The main practical support we offer comes in the form of:
- Fortnightly £15 hardship grants, which refugee friends use to buy food, travel, to medical and legal appointments, and to do laundry;
- The JRS Shop, where refugee friends can pick up essential food and toiletries;
- And a £10 phone credit every month, to help refugee friends stay connected to loved ones and essential services.
Mobile phone top-ups
During the pandemic, as much as we might not have liked doing everything online, most of us did not have to think twice about being able to get online to continue to work/study, order household items to our doorstep, or to keep in contact with loved ones.
However, without support, the right to work, or to earn an income, refugee friends sometimes do not have enough money for phone credit and data.
During lockdown, this meant increased levels of social isolation for some refugee friends who were unable to contact family and friends or emergency services.
We therefore started providing £10 monthly phone top-ups, to make sure that much needed emotional and practical support could continue even when we could not physically meet in person.
“Two months of total isolation”
Though we have been back to in-person meetings for some time, we have continued to provide phone top-ups to refugee friends supported by JRS. The ban on the right to work continues to prohibit refugee friends from affording phone credit, which still remains essential in accessing services, keeping up to date with asylum cases, and learning new skills.
One refugee friend, Omer, described how not having access to the internet affected his asylum claim:
“Some libraries offer free internet and computer access, but often only for one hour a day and the connection can be slow. When my asylum application was rejected by the Home Office, I went to the library to submit all my documents to appeal the decision. The Home Office said they didn’t receive any of the documentation, but by this stage the library was closed. I missed the Home Office deadline.”
Home Office deadlines are strict, and as Omer was unable to submit his paperwork on time, he was no longer eligible for accommodation and financial support from the Home Office as an asylum seeker.
Without access to the internet, this was also a time of wider disconnection:
“Before I registered with JRS, I moved around different places in the UK – I have experienced having no internet. I spent two months with no phone, and no access to the internet – two months of total isolation and disconnection from my family and friends.”
Without internet, Omer found himself disconnected from everything – from the Home Office, from family and friends, from English classes, from legal advice, from his GP. Everything needs the internet.
“The JRS mobile data top-ups are special for me”
We try to give refugee friends the ability to stay connected on their own terms.
Our phone credits are provided through the network of their choice, and refugee friends pick the phone plans that suit their connectivity needs.
One refugee friend, Elz, told me that this was useful because it allows him to choose a suitable plan with both minutes (some of his appointments can only be arranged by phone, rather than by internet booking) and internet data.
This flexibility means that refugee friends can use the phone credit across a wide range of services:
“The phone top-ups are extremely good and very very helpful. It allows me to call my solicitor, the hospital, make appointments and have contact with different people. I also use the credit for internet data and attend English classes on zoom.”
JRS Refugee Friend
“The JRS mobile data top-ups are special for me – I don’t receive money from the Home Office, so I couldn’t buy any internet or any phone credit. It allows me to keep in touch with my family and my friends, and my solicitor. I use the JRS mobile top-up for internet data, mainly to access my college course, for doing my homework, for sending e-mails and booking essential appointments with the GP and the hospital.”
Omer
As simple as a phone top-up is, it makes navigating a complex asylum system that much easier. Refugee friends are able to keep in contact with friends and family, befrienders, and support services, all people who help and support our friends on their journey.
A heartfelt thank you from all of us at JRS for your support. We could not offer this vital, much-needed support without you.
“Hello there, thank you so much for the message. Yes, I have just received the £10 credit on my phone. It is fantastic and very helpful…. A massive THANK YOU for your help and support. Please do keep safe and once again THANK YOU!!!”
In addition to phone credit, refugee friends need access to good quality mobile phones. If you’re able to donate, please contact us at uk@jrs.net. Thank you for your support.
Donate money towards phone top-ups
