APPENDIX B
THIS IS MARIA'S STORY
Where is Maria sleeping tonight? Who knows?
Together with her mother and little sister she is probably camping
on someone's sitting room floor.
Maria was ten when she came to England. Her
mother arrived in the UK from Ecuador, seeking political asylum.
She was heavily pregnant. Initially mother and baby received support
from the local authority and the Benefits Agency. Maria was able
to join her mother eight months later.
After living in London for a year the family's
application for asylum was refused. They appealed against the
decision. This meant that any state benefits they received were
immediately stopped and they were evicted from council housing.
They received some financial support from social services but
this was 30% less than normal benefits. The only place they could
find to live was insecure temporary accommodation owned by a private
landlord.
Two years later their appeal had still not been
heard. The landlord changed and the family were evicted from their
accommodation. Maria and her family were one of the first to be
affected by new regulations to "disperse" asylum seeking
families to different local authorities around the country. But
Maria's mother did not want to move. She said that everyone she
knew was in London and with so much uncertainty in their lives
the family wanted to hold on to the only emotional support they
had. Because they refused to move they were told that they were
not entitled to any more financial support. For three months they
slept on people's floors, surviving on what their hosts gave them.
When the family approached a Barnardo's project
for families in temporary accommodation they were destitute and
distressed.
At the meeting with the asylum team Maria's
mother was told the only option was for the family to be "dispersed"
to an area outside London. When she refused, she was told that
there would be no more help. The family left the social services
office and have not been seen again. No one knows where they are
living or how they are supporting themselves. Or what risks and
hardships they endure. What makes a mother so frightened of moving
to a strange place or being deported that she prefers to risk
her children's health on the streets or in make-shift accommodation?
Without living her experiences nobody can begin
to guess.
Risks for the future
The family has no source of income and no accommodation.
Maria and her mother are at risk of being exploited, perhaps through
prostitution, or turning to crime. Maria is unlikely to be able
to continue her education.
Failure to invest has cost £31,868 so far.
Early and timely support for Maria and her mother would have cost
£3,945 and prevented such social exclusion.
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