Migrant Action

Empowerment Advocacy Justice

Covid-19- Further Information Update

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Coronavirus poses significant challenges and serious risks to every fabric of our society. And, as a consequence, we are experiencing and adapting to fast moving changes.

For the most vulnerable living on the hard edges of society including; the elderly, people who are isolated, the homeless, destitute migrants with no recourse to public funds, people with insecure immigration status,  immigration detainees, migrants in insecure and low-paid work, coronavirus poses even greater threat to their lives and livelihoods.  

Though necessary, the current lockdown ‘remedies’ will disproportionately affect vulnerable migrants who risk further marginalisation and exclusion from limited service provision. In this current crisis, the most vulnerable become even more exploitable.  Broadly,  coronavirus poses serious risks to health and social care  and economic systems.  These ‘weakened’ systems will disproportionately impact on the most disadvantaged of our society including vulnerable migrants who often ‘hidden, ‘ignored’, or ‘crushed’.

As we adapt and respond to the crisis, Migrant Action continually applies its core values of humanity, solidarity, collaboration, adaptability, migrant justice, flexibility and resilience to ensure that we continue to serve our purpose in supporting migrants in these difficult times especially the most vulnerable.

So we want to let you know the nature of our service provision during this lockdown period and how the organisation as a whole is responding to the crisis.

What is Migrant Action providing and how?

Our Advice & Support Service

  • Our drop-ins in Leeds and Barnsley are temporarily closed during this lockdown period while we explore with our partners best ways of meeting the needs of clients who access our drop-ins.
  • However, our Information, Advice, Advocacy and Access to justice provision continues. We respond to client enquiries by telephone and will provide information, advice and guidance including signposting and referrals.  Contact us by telephone on 01133731763 or email us at info@migrantaction.org.uk
  • EU Settlement Scheme:  We are not able to provide face-face appointments to complete applications, however we continue to provide information and guidance by telephone to help EU nationals apply for Settled Status
  • Destitution Support–   We recognise that these are extremely tough times. If you are destitute especially families with no recourse to public funds, we may assist you with food parcel or food voucher.  Contact us on 01133731763
  • We continue our collaborative work with partners in line with government’s advice to ensure continuity of service delivery and effective strategic partnership.

Our Volunteers

During this challenging time our volunteers remain integral to the services we provide. The current situation demands of our volunteer service to be agile, to adapt and flex to respond effectively to our service needs.

  • Whilst community engagement and fundraising activities are on hold, our volunteers continue to raise awareness about Migrant Action’s work using social media and other virtual communication platforms.
  • We continue our volunteer peer support via Zoom, WhatsApp etc.
  • We would like to thank all our volunteers for their support and contribution
  • Recruitment for new volunteers is currently on hold until July 2020

Our commitment and overall goal

In this pandemic crisis despite our reduced service provision, Migrant Action remains committed to its core purpose and values. Our overall goal is to protect the rights, dignity, humanity and justice of vulnerable migrants particularly in this time of crisis.   This will be ensured by our capacity to flex, adapt, collaborate and be resourceful working together in solidarity. 

We pay huge tributes to the NHS and recognise the remarkable contribution of all migrants working in the NHS

Hope will triumph over despair!

Fidelis Chebe

Director- Migrant Action

Happy New Year from Migrant Action

Dear friends of Migrant Action,

In a few hours, we will be saying ‘good-bye’ to 2021 and ‘welcome’ to 2022. Thank you for your solidarity and support helping to strengthen Migrant Action’s advocacy and pursuit for migrants’ rights & justice in an increasingly challenging and complex environment.  The essence of our work is even more relevant now!

Context

BREXIT, the ‘New immigration bill which reinforces the ‘hostile environment’ policy targeting migrants, the Climate crisis, Covid-19, Systemic racism, negative press narratives fuelling anti-migrant sentiments by sections of the media, protracted conflicts, political violence, human rights violations, economic exploitation, and political marginalisation of the global south.   

These developments constitute a disturbing environment for migrant’s rights & justice.  Firstly, it engineers and sustains vulnerability and the precarious conditions that trigger more mobility of migrants across and within countries.   Secondly, it entrenches and exacerbates an infrastructure that undermine migrants’ capacity to access justice, deepen inequality, racial & social injustice and routinely negate migrant rights and dignity.  In essence, such an environment poses an existential threat to the dignity and humanity of migrants.

Our Response

Migrant Action is adapting and responding to this changing and complex context. We have expanded provision and adapted service delivery model to proactively support vulnerable migrants during the pandemic and beyond. We enhanced our delivery of crisis interventions to prevent homelessness & destitution, increased access to immigration advice for people with insecure immigration, increased integration support for new migrants, assisted more EU migrants to regularise their immigration status in the UK after Brexit.   Our advocacy work continues to promote equity of rights and justice for migrants. Essentially, Migrant Action continues to a lifeline and safety net for vulnerable migrants in this challenging environment.

Migrant Action has also strengthened its capacity and resilience in pursuit of transformational social change. The current context demands more urgency to challenge anti-migrant sentiments and policies, tackle structural inequalities, climate change, systemic racism, and social injustice. To this vein, our strategic advocacy through ‘Strengthening Hands’ partnerships to grow migrant ‘voice’, as well as our collaborative research, capacity building and campaign-based activities have been impactful.

Looking to the future

Migrant Action anticipates operating in an even more challenging context as it grapples with the issues undermining rights and justice. However, we have emerged from 2020/21 with more capacity and resilience to respond to present and future challenges working as a team with staff, volunteers, trustees, partners, funders and of course, those we serve- migrants.  Therefore, we look forward to 2022 with greater hope and fierceness commitment to rights and justice for migrants, a fair and humane immigration system and for a more equal, just, and peaceful society in which everyone including migrants can realize their full potential.

Dear friends, your solidarity remains invaluable and integral to our success, even more so, now!

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Fidelis Chebe

Director