Neighbours Help!

Aim

We need your help to allow us to continue to support the migrants currently working to keep our communities functioning through this crisis.

If you have already kindly donated to our Appeal:

(1) Many many thanks!

(2) Please check your email as on 5th August we sent you an IMPORTANT EMAIL FOR YOU TO ACTION!

If you have not yet donated, please do not do so now as our Appeal is no longer accepting donations.

Neighbours Help! The last few months have shown us that we depend on our neighbours now more than ever.  

In the UK, our neighbours come from all over the world.

Our neighbours are NHS workers; doctors, nurses, care workers and support staff. Over 14% of those who work in these roles are migrants or come from a migrant background. In total, around 850,000 migrants work in health and social care – around one in five of the total workforce. So do a huge proportion of delivery drivers, farm workers, cleaners and those running supermarkets. So many of the key workers keeping our country running came here as migrants. 

Without these people, our communities would not cope, especially in times of crisis. 

Some people move to the UK for work, others are refugees who have been forced to move here because of war and violence. However they got here, they are our neighbours and they want to contribute to society. 

That’s where we come in. Integrating into a new community is neither easy nor automatic. Our charity offers vital services to people as they build their lives in the UK, overcoming barriers in order to become active members of their community. 

The future of our organisation is under threat. Without your support we will have to close our doors. This will mean that the support we give to migrants, refugees and others seeking protection or British citizenship (including stateless people) will disappear. 

This is our Call to Action - Consonant needs YOUR help

• Donate NOW to save our Charity  
• Please help us to help those who help you – amplify our campaign online #NeighboursHelp

If the Board determine that insufficient monies have been raised from the appeal for the organisation to remain viable, all monies raised through the Crowdfunder site will be returned to donors. 

Amanuel, our Head of Community Development, shares why our support of vulnerable migrants is so crucial. Like many of those that Consonant helps, several of our staff are also from a refugee/ immigrant background.  

The money raised in this appeal will be a lifeline for Consonant and the vulnerable yet invaluable members of our society that we support. We'll be able to continue providing services such as:

• Free legal advice and representation on asylum and immigration matters
• Financial advice, ensuring access to the appropriate benefits
• Integration services, particularly free English language and IT courses
• Careers guidance 
• Support for EU Citizens in applying for the EU Settlement Scheme
• Health clinics 
• Counselling sessions. Arts and crafts workshops. Well-being walks. 

We help migrants with all these services for free. These are the services which we need your help to protect. 

Without your support we will have to close our services, but we want to stay open to help those that help our society to thrive. 

Without Consonant, many will have nowhere else to turn.

Shahin, our receptionist, shares how Consonant have shaped his story 

Quote from a young person who suffered from mental and physical illness and was granted leave to remain in the UK as a stateless person in early 2020 with Consonant’s help 

“When my previous leave to remain in the UK expired, I was experiencing a really difficult time in my life. I was confused about my situation, and I didn’t realise that my leave expired until it was too late. I also had a hard time finding a legal adviser to help me. My previous application had been dealt with by people who were responsible for me when I was a child. I didn’t have money to pay for legal help. When I did realise that my leave had expired, I felt like my life was crashing down around me.  

When my legal advisor at Consonant, Cynthia Orchard, said she could help me, I didn’t feel so alone anymore. She helped me through every step of the process of making a new application. 

When I was granted leave to remain in the UK again, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was so, so happy. I feel like now I have a future again, and I hope I can do something with my life. Without Consonant, I wouldn't be able to move forward.” 

Quote from a service user recognised as a British citizen after making a Nationality Status application through Consonant, February 2020

"I never thought I would win this battle but I did and I wouldn’t of done it without Consonant. They worked hard and looked at all the various different options, they assisted me with coping with what my journey of life had thrown at me.... Now my journey is a new exciting journey."

Visit our website https://consonant.org.uk and find out more about our work. 

Please see our Privacy Statement here: https://consonant.org.uk/privacy-policy/ which includes how to Opt-Out.

This project successfully funded on 28th August 2020