Migrant Destitution Toolkit

Migrant destitution in the UK is rising, and more than ever housing providers and homelessness services have a responsibility to ensure that they provide the necessary support to ensure vulnerable migrants are housed and protected from destitution. For migrants across the country, the impact of Brexit still unclear, and tragedies like Grenfell Tower provide devastating evidence of some of the housing conditions of vulnerable migrant tenants in the UK. 

Destitute and vulnerable migrants in the UK present unique and complex challenges to housing providers, especially those with complicated immigration cases. Cuts to legal aid and difficulties in claiming mainstream welfare support lead many to spend a life on the streets of the UK – exposing themselves to violence, uncertainty, danger, ill health and abuse. 

Homeless Link - the national membership body for housing and homelessness organisations - has produced the Migrant Destitution Toolkit, designed to help homelessness and housing services work in partnership to prevent unnecessary destitution in the UK. The toolkit is developed by the Strategic Alliance on Migrant Destitution (SAMD), a cross sector alliance of organisations from across the housing, homelessness, refugee and migrant sectors. 

Providing a range of good practice case studies (including ACH), briefings on the importance of good quality immigration advice and practical steps on facilitating partnerships in your local area, this three-part toolkit is a must for any service responding to the needs of migrant destitution in their local area. 

Whether you are a housing association, hostel, night shelter, homelessness outreach team or open access day centre, this toolkit will have a range of options that can help answer your questions, and therefore ensure no destitute migrant is left without support or appropriate signposting. 

If you are using the toolkit, or have any feedback about what works well, please do get in touch and contribute to the Strategic Alliance’s ongoing work in this area. To find out more about the ongoing work of the Alliance, including links to lots of other resources to support destitute migrants in the UK, visit the webpage and sign up to the newsletter: www.homeless.org.uk/samd. Alternatively, you can contact Patrick.duce@homelesslink.org.uk. 

Link to download the toolkit - http://www.homeless.org.uk/our-work/national-projects/strategic-alliance-on-migrant-destitution/migrant-destitution-toolkit