The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in the UK is to expand its work providing temporary accommodation for refugees.
The new “At Home” scheme will match destitute asylum seekers with religious communities and parishes willing to offer short-term accommodation.
Sarah Teather, director of JRS UK, said that the scheme would benefit both asylum seekers and potential hosts. She added that it responded to the “huge need” to provide stable accommodation for asylum seekers and was a practical way for Catholic communities and parishes to make a difference.
“Providing shelter to refugees who find themselves homeless is literally a lifeline for many,” she said. “We’ve also found that the hosts gain a lot. For many people they see the refugee crisis all over the news and they want to help but they don’t know how.”
Pope Francis has called for the Church to shelter more refugees during the Year of Mercy. One of the Corporal Works of Mercy is to shelter the homeless, Ms Teather pointed out. “We’re enabling religious communities to put this into action,” she added.
The JRS expects forthcoming changes to the Immigration Act to increase homelessness among refugee families with children.
Ms Teather said it was concerned particularly about measures that will require landlords to check the immigration status of tenants and will restrict the financial support available to families turned down for asylum.
“The direction of travel, particularly on issues in the Immigration Act, is very worrying,” said Ms Teather. “We worry we will see a rise in numbers of people becoming homeless and [feel desperately] that we should be treating people with more dignity.”
The scheme will initially offer accommodation in the London area, but the JRS hopes to expand it to outside the capital.
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