Swansea Asylum Seekers Support (SASS) has been offering a warm welcome to people seeking sanctuary in the Swansea area since 1999. It offers practical support, educational opportunities, and simple friendship to attendees from as many as 35 different countries of origin.
In 2024, the need for the charity’s help hit an all-time high. Attendance at SASS drop-in evenings has risen by more than 51%, from an average of 91 people a night in 2023 to 138. This winter SASS has been handing out ‘warm packs’ – containing blankets, gloves, and hats – to those struggling to stay warm. Demand is so high that the packs have almost run out. Can you help in any way?
Backlogs and burdens
Sandra, a volunteer for SASS since 2017 and the charity’s chair of trustees, says the increasing need is partly a result of people being more aware of its services. But it’s in large part due to government policies having created a bottleneck, leaving people seeking asylum waiting longer and longer for a decision on their claim, while unable to work and support themselves.
“Part of the reason for the increased demand is that people need our services for much longer. The last government created a huge backlog of asylum cases, by effectively making it impossible for people to claim asylum, which means we see people waiting much longer for their claim to be heard. They’re having to live for much longer without the right to work, with a very small amount of money to live on.”
“We recently asked a group of people who come here what SASS means to them, and the most common answer was ‘it’s our family’. That’s what we want to be, a space to offer community, sanctuary, and friendship, where people can feel welcomed. But we also have had to become a place where people can come to get toiletries and essential goods, because they’re not allowed enough money to afford such items themselves. And where people come for food because it’s probably the only hot meal they get that day.”
Almost all people waiting for an asylum decision are banned from applying for work, meaning their only possible income is Asylum Support. It’s set by the Home Office at just £49.18 a week for people living in self-catered accommodation, and a meagre £8.86 for people living in accommodation where food is provided. The amount isn’t enough to cover basic needs, so many turn to services like SASS for help.
Dedication and desperation
Sandra says, “This year we’ve given out over 2,500 items of toiletries. Things like shower gel, shampoo, laundry detergent, sanitary products, and toilet roll. We never have enough for what people need. You try telling a mother that all she can have is three toilet rolls, for a family of five, because that’s as much as you have to give. It’s better than nothing, but it’s not enough.”
“I have to tell you, I don’t sleep well on a Friday night after that. I come back and say to myself, ‘we do what we can’, but I know it just isn’t enough.”
“We were recently given 200 ‘warm packs’ by the National Grid, which we’re very grateful for. They contain things like a fleece blanket, hot water bottle, hat, and gloves. We’ve already handed out most of these, and the rest we’ll hand out soon, because they’re very much needed. It’s not just that people need food, they’re also cold, and you can’t save up for a coat or a blanket when living on less than £50 a week.”
SASS has 118 volunteers, 61 of whom are themselves currently waiting for an asylum decision, or are refugees. That reflects many people’s dedication to supporting people in the same situation as themselves. But it also shows the desperate need that many people who are banned from work feel: they want to be productive.
Sandra adds, “People want to give back, and they want to have a purpose. Anybody who has worked with sanctuary seekers knows they don’t want to be reliant on the state, or have such a long period of time when they can’t work and have to ask for support.”
How you can help
“You see people in despair because they have so many skills they want to contribute, but they’re not allowed to. We have many skilled professionals who come to SASS. The longer they’re kept out of work, you watch helplessly as they begin to lose confidence, to lose their skills, to lose heart.”
“What the people who come here really need is simple. The right to work. A weekly allowance that’s at least close to adequate to live on. Much quicker decision-making. And more opportunities to learn English then find work once they have refugee status. It would make all the difference.”
Until those changes come, SASS’s services will continue to be much in demand. The charity welcomes monetary gifts and donations of essential items, toiletries, and clothing. But it’s also inviting people in the Swansea area to give their time.
Sandra says, “We always appreciate things like clothes and toiletries. But what we really need are mentors – people to sit down with others for 20 minutes, to talk to them, get to know them, make them feel welcome, and help with English.”
“In Wales, I think we genuinely do strive to be a Nation of Sanctuary, and I see the welcome offered by and to everyone here at SASS. You do feel sadness and dismay when you look at the system. But then you see everyone who comes to our drop-ins, still smiling, still supporting each other, however hard it gets. And that’s what gives me hope.”
Swansea Asylum Seekers Support (SASS) runs drop-in groups for people seeking asylum, providing English language help, support, food, and more in service of its aim to offer “welcome, wellbeing, welfare, and empowerment” to people in need of sanctuary. Find out more about them and how you can help at the SASS website.
