Help MRSN raise £5,000 to find and prepare homes for refugees this winter.

MRSN is a grass-roots charity, directly managed by refugee communities in Greater Manchester. For over 24 years, we have been providing practical support to those fleeing persecution, conflict, and various forms of injustice and abuse.

1 in 2 refugees are forced to sleep rough or are in a homeless shelter after being told to leave their home office accommodation.

Many refugees we work with have also have underlying health and mental health issues as a result of trauma, conflict, physical injury and the anxiety of facing the hostile immigration process.

Hostile policies make it nearly impossible for refugees to meet their basic living needs and many end up homeless

They are given just 28 days’ notice leave to go and fend for themselves once they are granted refugee status. Since Covid-19, this includes learning to navigate their way through very complex bureaucratic systems and processes that are increasingly becoming more online. This causes further exclusion for refugees and asylum seekers who are significantly affected by digital poverty.

Our housing program is designed to find homes for refugees in Greater Manchester who are at risk or are homeless and vulnerable. We house single vulnerable adults with support needs, targeting newly arrived refugees.

Your donation will allow us to furnish and source homes for homeless or vulnerable refugees to keep them safe this winter

Your donation offers a lifeline to some of the world’s most vulnerable refugees. Your donation will help us source and furnish single gender homes where tenants have their own room, and share communal facilities, combined with culturally sensitive holistic support which includes employability skills and training.

Finding a home is the first step towards healing from the trauma of conflict, finding rewarding jobs and so much more. 

£5 could help towards the cost of turning on heat to keep a house warm this winter.

£15 could pay for broadband for a month to help with job searches and access to other important online services.

£25 could go towards purchasing a PC per household.

£50 could provide floor covering for one room.

£100 could provide 2 tenants with 10hrs a week of housing related and resettlement support from a dedicated support worker.

£300 could purchase a bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers and bedside cabinet for 1 bedroom

This year, because of the COVID-19 crisis, we need your support NOW more than ever. It is the time for us to come together to make a real difference. Let’s show at risk homeless refugees we truly care this Christmas. For more ideas on fundraising, please click here.

Thank you from all the staff and clients at MRSN. We could not do this without you.

Meet the Hussein* family, who secured a furnished home due to the work of MRSN, our networks and our wonderful supporters

An ongoing partnership arrangement led to MRSN acquiring a property to manage for the purpose of supporting homeless refugee families resettle as they embark on rebuilding their lives in the UK. This is one of several managed properties ran by MRSN.

Our newest family to benefit from this provision is the Hussein* family who have 3 children with a new arrival due in a few weeks. Arriving in January, Mrs Hussein and children were all reunited again with the children’s father. Numerous moves whilst being placed in and out of several hostels (in less than ideal living conditions) was very unsettling for the new arrivals and family as a whole. The lack of a settled home environment, in the middle of a pandemic and school closures made it extremely difficult for the family to begin adjusting and adapting to life in the UK.

The family now have a RIS caseworker who has helped settle the family into their new home by; accessing essential furniture and items; identifying suitable utility providers; arranging repairs; securing school placements; conducting orientation of local vicinity and so much more.

Holding back tears Mr Hussein said “I am speechless and humbled by the response and support of the British public shown towards my family and myself, and we are truly grateful”.

In between looking for work Mr Hussein has already started volunteering with MRSN as a way of giving back to the society that afforded him and his family protection. 

If you are interested in donating any properties you own or rent out to this appeal, please click here for more information.

*All names are changed, in order to stay in line with our confidentiality policy.