Overview of Support provided by the Homeworld Property

This unusual client base is by their nature vulnerable, having come to this country fleeing persecution, and as a result are unfamiliar with the surroundings. They lack the support of family and friends, may have language and cultural problems and are often somewhat isolated. The diversity of ability and experience of refugees makes provision all the more difficult e.g. in their home country their employment experience may range from street selling to professions such as medicine, teaching and engineering; their aspirations may range from survival within this country to becoming a well-trained and educated part of the work-force; they may have different scripts, may be a speaker of more than one language, may be a confident speaker of English but have little ability in reading or writing; they may have no education at all (and therefore unable to read and write in their mother tongue) or be educated to university level. The amount of help they are likely to need is therefore diverse with some requiring far longer Support facilities than others.

The majority of the input required is to do with a lack of the ability to read and write in English. Housing Benefit and related forms, Job Seeker and Income Support, Home Office documentation all take up a great deal of time both initially and later, as all of these necessitate follow up work. A close working relationship with local and national service providers such as Social Services and the DWP is in place so that we are able to deal with misunderstandings as they arise. We also have access to translators when necessary.

Utility bills and enquiries, official mail, unsolicited mail, all cause language difficulties and a need for clarification. Mail in particular, can cause distress and often leads to problems because of either being disregarded by the client or misunderstood.

Setting up home for some of our clients can be a totally new experience, as their backgrounds and culture do not prepare them for life in Britain. Many are unaware of the use of utilities such as gas and electricity and their dangers; the need for cleanliness both personally and in the home; the requirement for consideration to neighbours and general acceptable behaviour - all have to be learned.

Many of our clients have also been additionally traumatised by separation from their families in the own countries. We try to help by leaising with organisations like the Red Cross or the Home Office to facilitate the finding of families, and if appropriate the setting of close family with the client and all this entails.

Homeworld Property helps their clientele as much as possible by simplification of documentation through words and pictures. This is an on-going project as the need arises.

With the increasing number of refugees being allowed to settle in this area, it is envisaged that this client base will increase substantially over the next few years.