BOAZ TRUST - February 2023
“… I was a stranger and YOU invited me in.” (Matthew 25:35)
The Boaz Trust is a Manchester based, Christian organisation that works with people who have fled their own countries to seek safety here in the UK. They arrive hoping for sanctuary from persecution and torture, but without irrefutable proof, good legal support, and owing to huge delays in decision making, many people like Aimee** can end up homeless, without money or support.
Before she came to Boaz, Aimee spent a period of several months destitute; forced to find a place to sleep wherever she could, despite the dangers she faced in doing so. It was an experience that she says made her lose her belief in her value as a human being and led to her developing depression and anxiety.
That’s where the Boaz Trust steps in. Since 2004 we have been providing safe and stable homes and providing one to one support to help overcome trauma. Thanks to the financial support of individuals and churches like St Mary’s, the Boaz Trust were able to give Aimee a room in one of our shared houses and offer her support from our specialist team to rebuild her life. She says:
“Even though it’s a room, sharing accommodation, those sisters I shared with became my family. Having a house changed a lot in me as a person. The most important thing is that it gave me back myself…I cannot say thank you to Boaz enough.”
Crucially, the stability that having a home provides also enables the people we support to connect with a lawyer and determine the possibilities of making a fresh asylum claim. We know from experience that with the right kind of support many of the people we work with will eventually be granted leave to remain. And this is what happened for Aimee.
“With the help of the case workers from Boaz and with the help of my lawyer, I was granted [refugee] status. So imagine if I didn’t have that house and I didn’t have that support from Boaz. That would have never, ever happened. Boaz has the understanding that we go through a lot. They don’t count you as a number or as somebody who just lives in their accommodation. They treat you as a human being and they work alongside you to get what you’re aiming for.”
Aimee finally has refugee status, a full time job and remains committed to her community and voluntary work.
**Name changed for security reasons.
Pray with Boaz:
-
Give thanks for new people moving into Boaz shared houses over the past month. We pray they can find a sense of security, stability and refuge. Please also pray for people like Aimee who have moved on from a Boaz house and start to take their next steps.
-
Praise God for the Food Shop Social that took place last week at the Boaz office. There was laughter, conversation and even dancing at one point, as people came with their shopping bags to collect fresh fruit and veg as well as a variety of other essential food items, toiletries and clothing.
-
Pray for the people we work with who are hoping to make further submissions to the Home Office in the coming weeks. Pray for those who are feeling stuck, and face difficulties providing all of the evidence needed to make further submissions.
-
Pray that plans to use military bases, ex-prison sites, ferries and barges as accommodation centres for people seeking asylum will not come to fruition. Pray for the UK to be a place of welcome, where people live in communities, not camps which can cause further trauma.
-
Pray for boldness, wisdom and the right words as Boaz seeks to counter this harmful rhetoric with the reality of the situation.
To watch Aimee’s video and find out how you can show your support for our brothers and sisters visit www.boaztrust.org.uk
For more information about about our other mission partners go to the Mission Partners page