Stand with Survivors

Dear Supporters,

We're so excited to share what we have been up to with you. We would also like to thank you for your support and allowing us to provide support to Survivors of trafficking, torture, and human cruelty.

2022 saw us continue to provide our model of integrated care to survivors – we also faced many challenges including:

• As a result of the war in Ukraine, we have worked to support clients to access justice through explaining the various Ukraine schemes and offering advice on asylum to those directly impacted by the conflict.We have secured urgent protection and safety for the most vulnerable individuals and laid the foundations for a long-term response to this humanitarian catastrophe. 
• As bills and the general cost of living continue to rise, we are supporting Survivors who were already surviving on the absolute bare minimum, due to the low rates of asylum support, by proactively sharing advice and assistance to ensure clients are accessing all possible income. Our dedicated housing and welfare team are also providing emergency relief grants to help our clients purchase food and basic essentials such as sanitary towels.
• Record numbers of people are being displaced by war and conflict, which leads to more trafficking and abuse. We are therefore seeing an increased demand for our services and expertise. This year, we are expanding our services to reach more Survivors by opening our Trauma Centre: a brand-new, best-in-class trauma facility specifically designed to meet the needs for Survivors and aid their recovery. It will create an invaluable space for our partners to share learnings so we can raise standards across the sector.

Finally, I wanted to share a podcast where you can hear directly from Kasun, one of the Survivors we work with, on how access to mental health support made a tremendous difference in his life. It is not often that Survivors feel they can share their stories publicly, so we are tremendously grateful to Kasun for his bravery in doing so. You can listen to the episode here: ‘Losing Myself: Mental Health in a Hostile Environment’, organised by Migrants Organise and Speak Up Radio.

Once again, thank you for your continued support for Survivors of trafficking and torture. I look forward to updating as we progress through 2023.

Best wishes, 

Helen Bamber Foundation

Links:

• Helen Bamber Foundation Website
• Helen Bamber Foundation Twitter Page
• Helen Bamber Foundation Instagram