Elizabeth’s Story
April 19, 2023
In March, one of our partner organisations referred ‘Elizabeth’ to Housing Justice Cymru. The team went to meet her the same day and assessed her needs. Elizabeth had nowhere to go and had been outside in the rain all day. She was tired, wet, hungry, and had all of her belongings with her – including her plants.
When the team told her that they were going to take her to stay in a hotel for four nights and give her money to buy food, she wept with gratitude as she couldn’t believe that someone was helping her.
Though we had hoped that the Home Office would provide Elizabeth with asylum support and accommodation within four days, it took 13 days until this materialised, and so we continued to accommodate her in a hotel.
On 22nd March, the Home Office came to the hotel to move Elizabeth to Swansea. Just before she left, the HJC team spoke to her and she said: “Thank you so much. Without HJC I would have been on the streets.”
The team reassured her that their support would not stop there and that they would share her contact details with partner organisations in Swansea who would be able to assist her in various ways.
