Stand with Survivors

The Helen Bamber Foundation 

The Helen Bamber Foundation provides expert care and support for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK who have experienced extreme physical, sexual and psychological violence. The individuals we work with have been subjected to atrocities including: state-sponsored torture, religious / political persecution, human trafficking, forced labour, sexual exploitation, gender-based and ‘honor-based’ violence.Many of our clients have suffered multiple violations and been repeatedly victimised.

We deliver a range of integrated services that address the complex needs and vulnerabilities of survivors. We offer survivors access to an individually tailored programme of specialist psychological care and physical rehabilitation activities alongside an advisory healthcare clinic, expert medico-legal documentation, welfare and housing support, creative arts and employability skills programmes.We work with hundreds of survivors of cruelty from all over the world, including men and women from Albania, Ghana, Eritrea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Afghanistan and Vietnam.

We utilise our reputation and the expertise to improve the political and social environment for survivors in the UK and overseas. We do this by disseminating our expert evidence and best practice guidance to statutory and non-statutory bodies to improve standards of care and influence change to policy and practice.

Our mission

The Helen Bamber Foundation’s mission is to deliver and promote a compassionate response to survivors of torture or extreme human cruelty, which recognises the complexity of their suffering and needs, and supports them in establishing a secure and fulfilling life.

What impact has HBF delivered with your support over the last 12 months? 

Psychological

CORE scores from when clients first engage with HBF indicate that 80% of survivors come to HBF with psychological distress ratings of ‘severe’ or ‘moderate to severe’. After treatment, only 65% of clients have a psychological distress rating of moderate or below, including almost 10% whose responses indicate they have achieved a ‘healthy’ rating. Data collected over the past year indicates that 65% of our clients will achieve an improvement in the levels of psychological distress after a single course of treatment form HBF and 25% of clients will achieve a significant improvement, with their psychological distress rating improving by 3 or 4 points on the scale, i.e. moving from ‘severe’ distress to ‘mild’ or ‘low’.

Physical health

Over the past year, five clients every week have sessions with HBF’s in-house specialist medical advisory service. More than 60 clients have received support including routine support, e.g. registering with their GP and understanding / reviewing their medication to receiving support with gynaecological conditions, cardiac conditions, gastrointestinal conditions and skin conditions. During this period, GPs helped clients suffering with extreme pain from badly healed fractures, abdominal pain and unexplained bruising. Clients came to the medical advisory clinic to get help with weight loss and problems eating, agoraphobia, seizures and fears over alcohol dependence. Three expectant mothers receives support through their pregnancy and birth of their children and one women received support to come to terms with suffering a miscarriage. Four clients were supported to develop crisis plans to deal with their suicidal ideation, one client was supported through a psychotic episode and three referrals were made to the Community Mental Health Team. Our osteopath works with 3-5 clients each week, specialist in treating physical trauma caused by violence, which improves the function of body tissues, including blood circulation and nerve activity, and to encourages healthy, mobile joint and muscle functioning. The acupuncture clinic has run every month, seeing 6-5 clients each time. Clients report feeling more relaxed and experiencing less pain after treatment.  

Legal status

Over the past year, we have delivered more than 160 Medico-Legal Reports. In an increasingly challenging environment for asylum seekers, more than 30 of our clients were successful securing legal protection, either being granted refugee status or leave to remain in the country. In 2015 we delivered 704 clinical investigation letters to survivors who were at risk of renewed / further harm through being detained. This high demand led HBF to be involved in a legal challenge of a system known as the Detained Fast Track (DFT), which was the source of many of our referrals. The challenge was successful and the DFT was suspended. As a result, we have received less referrals from detention in 2016 and delivered approximately 200 clinical investigation letters to help secure the release of survivors who were still being detained under alternative systems.

Accommodation

More than 100 clients have experienced housing crises over the past year, including termination of statutory support, being evicted by their landlord, the end of short term hosting arrangements and accommodation being clinically unsuitable e.g. clients with severe back and leg pain being housed in high rise blocks of flats. Of these crises, 55% were resolved within 1 month and a further 25% were resolved within 2 months. Due to the complex nature of our client’s accommodation challenges, resolutions can sometimes take longer but we were able to secure interim accommodation for all clients meaning only one experienced street homelessness for a short period. Resolutions include supporting clients to make successful applications to local authorities, securing temporary accommodation in hosting arrangements or safe houses and appealing for reinstatement of statutory support.

Welfare

More than 80 clients have experienced welfare crises over the past year, including short notice termination of statutory support, administrative delays to statutory support, a change in their legal status meaning they no longer have recourse to public funds. Of these crises, 50% were resolved within 1 week, and 20% were resolved within 1 month. Resolutions include advocating on behalf of clients with statutory agencies, providing emergency relief and referring clients to community based support services.

Skills and integration

In a recent survey of clients who attend our groups, clients all gave positive feedback regarding the impact the activities have on their skills development and integration. Narrative feedback included:

• It is hard to describe how happy the group has made me, as it is hard for me to measure the happiness it gives me. Just the overall feel good factor is enough to make me come and attend on a weekly basis.
• In the future, these skills (I have learned) can be very helpful if I want to use them in course or courses in college or even in jobs which I will have. 
• (The group) made a difference in my life and in my habits. Before when I sit alone I always think about my past but now I try to do some drawing when I sit alone and it is very helpful for me.
• I met a few friends and my skill does improve and I was given more confidence.
• Woven Gold (HBF’s music group) gave me the sense of belonging which is a major emotional handicap for every immigrant, which can make us isolated. Woven Gold complemented perfectly the therapy I was having at the foundation where the therapy help me to understand, rationalise and accept my past and my present struggles, Woven Gold helped my emotional state. I was with the group of people who accept me for who I was, I was and still am encouraged to found my voice and express my emotional state. Woven Gold allowed me to heal. Just by expressing my fears, may pain through music. The medium of music is a great healer because I do not need to look for words to say how I feel, I just sing it out. Every time I sing with Woven Gold, some part of me get healed. I feel whole again. 

How many clients have we served in the last 12 months? 

1,000

Case study: Margaret's story 

Margaret was 15 years old when her family was killed in a civil war. She was captured by rebels, beaten and forced into sexual slavery. She lived in fear and suffered daily violence for more than two years. She finally managed to escape and found her way to a refugee camp. Conditions in the camp were very difficult. Margaret was desperate and alone when she met a western man who was kind to her, gave her food and promised to help her. He told Margaret he knew someone who would give her work in the UK, she was so relieved. When she arrived in the UK, another man met her at the airport. She was taken to a large house in London and locked in the basement. She finds it difficult to describe what happened to her there. 

When we first met Margaret, she was distraught: sometimes frantic, sometimes despairing, she was in constant agony for the family and the self she had lost. Margaret’s claim for asylum in the UK had been refused. She was homeless and terrified by the thought that she would be sent back to a life of exploitation and pain. She wanted to end her life.

We worked intensively with Margaret. We secured safe accommodation for her, helped her to access the correct benefits and register with a GP. Margaret joined our specialist therapy group for women who had been trafficked to the UK where she learned to understand her trauma symptoms and develop a range of coping mechanisms to reduce her panic and anxiety. Margaret also joined our English group and made a small group of friends.

Repeated trauma had left Margaret’s memory fragmented and she struggled to provide enough evidence to appeal the decision to refuse her claim for asylum. Our clinical team helped Margaret to construct a coherent narrative of her experience through specialist trauma-focussed therapy. Gradually, her flashbacks and nightmares have become less frequent and less frightening and she was able to tell her story. In addition, our Medico-Legal team documented her injuries and gave evidence to support her appeal. Eventually, the authorities were convinced and after six long years, Margaret was recognised as a refugee.

Margaret has worked extremely hard to come to terms with what was done to her. Now with secure legal status in the UK, Margaret is studying health and social care so that she can look after others, and lead a normal and fulfilling life that she so desperately wants.