About our guests
I’ve tried to keep with the idea that it’s not my place to go to find out their history. I’m a host, my guests don’t have to divulge anything, so I don’t get into people’s stories.
Those hosted through Refugees at Home will either have refugee status or will be actively engaged with the UK asylum system.
We don’t ask our guests about the reasons why they came to the UK and had to flee their home country. We strongly encourage our hosts to do the same too; the Home Office is responsible for investigating whether a person seeking asylum’s claim is valid, and we never seek to replicate this role. We believe that everyone has the right to seek asylum, and that people don’t leave their home countries for no reason.
You may find that some guests will want to tell you about their background, if you are happy to hear about it, but there is no obligation on you to have this conversation. Hosts may find that asking direct questions about a guest's past can be triggering for guests, so we advise to let conversations like this come from the guest themselves. They will have to face a great deal of questioning during the process of claiming asylum, and it can be very distressing to have to relive particular experiences.
Assessing guests
Most guests are self-referred to us; this means that they will have been granted refugee status in the UK and speak a good level of English. Some guests with refugee status, and all guests who are still navigating the asylum process will be referred to us by organisations who are supporting them in other aspects of their status in the UK. Those referrers assess each client’s situation and whether they feel they are suitable for hosting, prior to our assessment.
We do not accept guests who have substance abuse problems or serious mental ill health and any criminal convictions must be disclosed. You will receive information detailing what we are told when we ask you to host.
We ask our hosts to trust in our process of assessing the suitability of guests for hosting. We have years of experience, and we would not approach you to host someone until our checks are complete. If we are unable to accept a referral, we will signpost guests or referrers to other services who may be able to assist. We will never try to convince you to take a guest if you feel uncomfortable, and we can always find out more information prior to you deciding if you will accept the guest.
Refugees
UNHCR defines refugees as people forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as a result of who they are, what they believe in or say, or because of armed conflict, risk of violence or serious public disorder. Guests who we place who have refugee status have usually been through the UK’s asylum process prior to being granted their refugee status.
When a guest has received a positive decision on their asylum claim, they are given a maximum of 42 days to exit their statutory support, and register for bank accounts, benefits, arranging for their national insurance number, find work and somewhere to live.
At what should be a happy and relieving time after the difficult asylum process, people can find themselves needing the support of hosts to help them avoid homelessness while they make arrangements to move into independent living. In some cases, refugee status has been granted to our guests prior to arriving in the UK through government led programmes such as the Ukrainian visa route, family reunion or resettlement programmes.
People seeking asylum
A person seeking asylum (often referred to as an asylum seeker) is a person who has fled their country of origin and is seeking international protection. In the UK, it is someone whose claim for asylum has not yet been decided on by the Home Office. Not every person seeking asylum will ultimately be recognised as a refugee by the Home Office. For more information on how the asylum process works, we recommend using the Right to Remain Toolkit.
When we host people seeking asylum, it is usually because they have a ‘refused’ asylum claim which they are appealing, in the vast majority of cases, the refusal is overturned. When an asylum claim is refused, this means an end to statutory support including access to accommodation and financial support. Any right to work or study and recourse to public funds is revoked.
Our hosts provide a safe place to be as guests prepare their fresh claim. This is a complex process, and guests will be supported by an immigration advisor, and it’s crucial that hosts don’t offer immigration advice. If you are interested in finding out more about this process, you can access the Right to Remain Toolkit.
Once the appeal or fresh claim is submitted, statutory support can be reapplied for. However, this process can take a great deal of time and the person will need support from experts and professionals to reapply. Being offered accommodation by a generous host can be a key part to helping someone through this challenging time. In situations where you host someone whose application for asylum has not yet been accepted, we can provide a £30 per week bursary which can be passed to the guest or used to cover additional food bills in your home.
Immigration status
You’ll always be told the immigration status of any guest when we approach you to host. If you have questions about what this means, and the likely move-on from hosting and the support they receive, please speak to your Placement Coordinator – we don’t expect you to be an expert.
Our guests may be coming to you from another host, asylum accommodation, a hostel or from street homelessness. Your Placement Coordinator will explain this when they approach you. Please do ask any questions you have about this.
Keep in mind that it is a criminal offence to give immigration advice unless you are regulated to do so. It can be incredibly hard to tell the difference between what immigration rules require regulated advice and what would be seen as ‘support’, so we always advise hosts to not provide any answers in these situations.
Guest demographics
We offer hosting to individuals over the age of 18, to couples and to families. We do not offer hosting to unaccompanied children.
Our guests have differed in age and gender. Traditionally our guests were single and male, but this has undergone huge change in the past few years; our oldest guest has been 91 and our youngest a 5 day old baby with their mum.
On occasion, we will host guests who are disputing the age that the local authority or Home Office have found them to be, when they are actively engaged with specialist services who can help them return to the care system in the UK. We work with an expert partner, Together with Migrant Children, to assess the suitability in these cases for hosting.
Our guests have come from over 75 different countries, including Eritrea, Sudan, Iran, Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Prior to contacting you to see if you are interested in hosting a guest, our Placement team will have matched the guests’ needs against the hosting preferences you’ve told us about.
One of the rules is we don't talk about things in the past that might be painful, unless they want to talk about it… So, we've had lovely conversations about football, cricket and I know lots about mixed martial arts because we've had two people who want to compete and train.
Mental health and trauma
Many of our guests will have experienced extremely stressful and difficult challenges, which can manifest in mental ill health. We will not host someone who has severe mental health issues.
We may host guests who have or are experiencing depression, PTSD, anxiety and many other mental health issues. We always ask how this manifests and how it may affect their daily lives. We ask what support they are receiving, and we will share this information with hosts. It is important that our guests are well supported by their referrers and other professionals if appropriate.
As a host, you may find it useful to be aware of the signs of trauma, the team at Trauma Treatment International have produced a short guide on recognising these.
It is not the role of the host to diagnose or assist in mental health support for their guests. If you have concerns about the mental health of your guest, please speak to your Placement Coordinator.
Remember….
- Guests are refugees and people seeking asylum with no statutory support in the UK
- We carefully assess all guests to find out if they are suitable for hosting
- Please be sensitive: do not ask guests about their backgrounds, or the reasons for their journey to the UK
- Be aware that your guest may have been through traumatic experiences
