From Today’s Responsorial Psalm:
“The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; those who spirit is crushed he will save.
Many are the trials of the just man but from them all the Lord will rescue him.”
Psalm 33(34):16,18,19-21,23
As we continue to walk with Cecile today, can you sense the Lord’s closeness to her?
Cecile’s Story
This week we journey with Cecile, who came to the UK in search of safety over 10 years ago.
“The Home Office…don’t see the person, or what the person went through, all they see is a person lying. The Home Office has got a way of making people suffer.”
Like many of those accompanied by JRS, one of the greatest challenges of their destitution is the lack of safe and stable accommodation. Cecile stayed with a community of religious sisters for a while, a placement organised by JRS’s hosting scheme.
“JRS has done so many things for me, I don’t even have time to say everything but what really touched me is that I was the first person JRS found a place to stay in Stockwell. With the sisters of the Holy family.”
During this time, Cecile was diagnosed with cancer. This difficult time for Cecile was compounded by the impact of her enforced destitution.
“Because I was destitute, the only support I had was from charities.”
“JRS has helped me a lot, morally as well as financially. I especially valued Sarah’s help when I was going to hospital. And I remember writing poems at the prayer group.”
Through her illness and destitution, Cecile continued her fight to be recognised as a refugee and access the protection she deserved.
An Invitation to Action
Our mission of accompaniment is one which puts people at the heart. By coming to JRS, Cecile not only found help during a difficult time but a place where her spirits could be lifted by joining our prayer group and allowing her personality to flourish. Through activities such as our prayer group, our refugee friends are able to build resilience and community that gives them the support they need as they continue their journey.
Throughout Lent, we’re inviting you to make an extra effort to take small actions to show support to refugees and people seeking asylum.
Become a regular donor
The activities and support that we give to our refugee friends is only possible thanks to your generous help. Will you consider donating regularly to JRS to allow us to continue to accompany Cecile, John and all our refugee friends?
Your regular donation will support our work in accompanying our friends, for example to their reporting appointments, to ensure hardship grants are available, and to enable our friends to access essential services and activities.
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