Dignity for all Greater Manchester Residents
"We are human like you: hear us."
No matter where we come from, we all have the right to live with dignity as members of our society, free to support ourselves and access an essential safety net when we need it. But today, thousands of people across our city region are forced into destitution, denied the right to work or access welfare - solely because of where they have come from. This exclusion forces people into lives of extreme poverty in our midst, with negative impacts on physical and mental health. Because people are forced to live in the shadows, we don’t even know the scale. The government’s latest plans threaten to force yet more people in our communities into destitution.
Join the campaign by signing the pledge now, or find out other ways to get involved.
Sign the pledge
It takes all of us to end destitution in our communities.
I pledge to do everything in my power to END DESTITUTION, so that everyone in our communities in Greater Manchester can live with dignity, no matter where they come from.
Many of those forced to endure destitution face ill-health – made worse by barriers to accessing healthcare.
Some are older adults.
Some have children – who will be cut off from everything their classmates take for granted.
Some carry past trauma from outside the UK – which is compounded by the Home Office’s ‘culture of disbelief’. Others without pre-existing trauma see their mental health deteriorate as months of enforced dependency on others turn into years, or even decades.
It doesn’t have to be like this.
Rather than creating an even more Hostile Environment, we want the government to stop using destitution as a weapon of immigration control, so that everyone in our society can live with dignity, no matter where they come from.
What can I do?
"Don't let other people suffer like I have suffered. This is not normal to be left for 22 years without support. This is a prison."
"If this situation continues, I fear I will lose my sense of purpose and identity."
"This is the worst thing you can ever do to someone especially families and those who are able to work."
"I'm truly worried about my kids' futures."
The changes our communities need
"Destitution is a slow killer pill. Politicians, it's high time stop politics and focus on human beings who are in need."
The government must drop its cruel changes to the asylum system and to people’s rights to settle in the UK – all of which will dramatically increase the levels of destitution and risk tearing our communities apart.
Instead, key changes to the immigration and asylum system are needed to prevent people being unnecessarily forced into destitution, including:
- Creating a just and humane asylum system
- Reducing the costs of visa applications
- Ending the use of the NRPF condition
And, for those currently trapped in destitution, we need to see a new, simplified route to regularisation, based on 5 years’ residence, to make it easier to escape destitution.
As long as the government goes on forcing people into destitution, we need:
Better access to accommodation for Greater Manchester residents facing destitution
- Some of those facing destitution are street homeless – exposed to the wind, rain and cold, and increasingly exposed to racist violence.
- Others are ‘hidden homeless’ – staying with friends, relatives, chance acquaintances – often with little stability. People are forced to live with the indignity of being entirely dependent on others and, in the worst-case scenarios, exposed to abuse and exploitation.
Better access to stable accommodation will allow people to reclaim a degree of stability, with positive impacts on health and wellbeing – and, crucially, find the headspace to engage in the difficult process of escaping destitution.
Better access to legal advice to escape destitution
It is all but impossible to navigate the complexities of the immigration and asylum systems without expert advice – but there is a drastic shortage of legal aid immigration providers.
Far too many people are left to navigate the system with no legal representation. Others are let down by poor quality lawyers. Others feel forced to find a private lawyer – making them even more dependent on friends or family to fund it.
With better access to free immigration advice, fewer people will fall into destitution in the first place, and those who do find themselves destitute will be better supported to exit destitution.
"I didn’t know the steps to follow. Nobody told me about that process. Right now everything is so hard, it’s so hard to get a solicitor in the UK right now."
An environment of solidarity, welcome and support across Greater Manchester for people living in destitution
- People facing destitution have long been living at the hard edge of the Hostile Environment – which turns landlords, employers, doctors, social workers, teachers into border guards.
- They are increasingly also subject to escalating racist hostility from the far right, mirrored by increasingly racist hostility from the government.
- We need to see a clear and consistent message of welcome, solidarity and support from within our communities, from statutory services, and from our local political leadership – making it clear that everyone resident in Greater Manchester, no matter where they are from or what their immigration status, is welcome here as members of our communities.