For more than 15 years, Nottingham Arimathea Trust has taken hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers off the streets and provided them with accommodation while they await settled status. Its closure – announced in October – means around 30 people will have to leave their properties this Christmas.
Reporter George Palmer-Soady speaks to people living at the charity’s accommodation and hears what will happen when – in only a matter of weeks – they may be left without a home.
Jery says he is going to be made homeless once again this Christmas. The 61-year-old has slept rough on the streets of Nottingham many times before and describes it as “the reality” of living in the UK while awaiting settled status as a refugee.
“I came here with a visa 20 years ago,” he says. “But my original status ran out four months ago, and now I have no legal official status here, meaning I can’t work.
“I needed help but there was little anyone could do, so I used to sleep on a bench or under a shop – just anywhere warm.
“I didn’t want to ask anyone for help at the time because I was embarrassed.”
Jery is one of around 30 people who will feel the bruising impact of Nottingham Arimathea Trust’s (NAT) upcoming closure. He asked us not to go into detail about his asylum claim – which is common among applicants who fear having too much information made public may lead to repercussions if they are ever forced to return home.
Since 2007, the trust has taken in more than 1,000 refugees and destitute asylum seekers from the streets – providing them with accommodation and support while they await a settler status decision from the Government.
But at the end of October (2024), the organisation announced it will be shutting down by December 20, at which point all residents are expected to have packed their bags and left.
And this Christmas, it’s people like Jery that will feel the closure deeper than anyone.
“They came to the rescue,” he continued, speaking of the charity. “They looked past my legal status.
“Now when the charity shuts down I will have no choice but to go back on the street – it’s a daunting prospect, especially in winter, but it’s the reality.”
Joe Harvey is a support worker at the charity and is now one of only two staff left while operations close down.
“I’m devastated – there’s been a lot of tears and sadness,” he said, explaining that the trust has been forced to take tough decision as it can no longer afford to bear the cost of increasing financial pressures.
Other than some funding on certain projects from Nottingham City Council and grants from the National Lottery and local church groups – the Arimathea Trust has relied mainly on public donations.
“But it’s the cost of living and energy,” he continued. “People don’t have the money to be as charitable as they used to be and the money we used to receive just doesn’t go as far as it used to.”
Joe says the charity is closing down all nine properties it runs across Notts on a one-by-one basis, with around five houses still accommodating people.
Each house can hold up to six people, offering them a shared kitchen, bathroom and individual rooms.
The Arimathea Trust says that in 2023 its reserves – money that charities save over a number of years and are free to spend on whatever they wish – went down by £70,000 compared to the previous year.
At that time, the charity was taking in an average of £500,000 a year, according to the Chair of Trustees Andrew Wilson.
He says the trust “couldn’t afford that kind of loss,” as it entered the new year, leading to the eventual closure.
“We were struggling just to keep going,” he said.
“It got to a point where we knew we’d have to stop and we would have gone bankrupt. We’re one of many charities in real difficulty at the moment.
“What’s been happening recently is that the amount of government funding has been reducing so the amount of people needing our help has increased.
“Everything was cutback and support wasn’t there for these people we work with. It’s an impossible problem.”
He added that around 80 per cent of the individuals the charity has supported have gone on to have their claims accepted.
Most refugees the trust has worked with come from Afghanistan, Iran and Sudan.
Ethiopian-born Natnael lives at AMT’s oldest property and says the support he’s received from the charity has changed his life.
He came to England in 2015 seeking asylum due to “severe political issues” which he says affected him and his family.
“My father was involved with a political party advocating for change and justice,” he said.
“His commitment to fighting for our rights put him at great risk. For a long time, I have been actively sending letters to support my father.
“I felt compelled to do whatever I could to help him, even from afar.”
After living in the UK for nine years, Natnael hasn’t yet received a decision on his asylum claim.
To be recognised as a refugee in the UK, those seeking asylum must have left their country and be unable to go back in fear of persecution. Most asylum seekers apply when they arrive in the UK, where they are required to have a meeting with an immigration officer, known as a ‘screening’.
That interview will determine whether a claim can be considered. If so, a caseworker will be assigned. These claims can then take months or years to be decided, with some people waiting many years for a final outcome.
By not being recognised as a legal citizen of the country, Natnael is unable to get work or claim benefits – meaning the trust has acted as a major source of support.
“It’s heartbreaking and at the moment, I can’t do anything,” he says of his struggle to be recognised as a legal British citizen.
“You get stuck in a system, and it’s hard to navigate when you’re not used to it. The charity used to help me with that and gave me a place to stay.
“Now it is closing we have until Christmas – then people need to leave the accommodation as soon as possible.
“I’ll have to stay with friends and it’s quite hard.”
Piotr Mzur came from Poland to the UK in 2007 – where he quickly found himself on the streets.
He says that while rough sleeping he was the victim of an attack which left him without the right to work in the UK.
“I was robbed. These people took my passport, my ID, my driving licence, and all my documents,” he said.
“I tried to get help, but unfortunately was ignored.”
He was eventually put in touch with the Arimathea Trust, which has provided accommodation and support with documentation – but another health issue has prevented him from living a life free of charity support.
“I started to have issues with my eyes – I’ve had my cataracts taken out from both eyes and the retina of my eyes has come off.
“Because of this I can’t work, but I really want to. Now I am at the mercy of charity institutions.
“Before this incident I worked as a forklift driver – I even had English papers to work here. But now I feel like a beggar. The trust has helped me and they take good care of us.”
Support worker Joe says the charity will try its best to shelter the residents before it closes.
“Hundreds of people need our service and it was only us providing that in Nottingham,” he added.
“There is a winter shelter, but come spring that will shut and at the end of the day, our charity shouldn’t have to exist.
“We cannot carry on being that sticking plaster we were for this gap in the services.”
As of September 2023, Nottingham had 1,550 asylum seekers, representing 0.47% of the city’s population.
Nottingham City Council statistics show this is an increase of around 900 people seeking asylum since 2014, highlighting the growing demand.
About three quarters of asylum seekers live in Home Office-funded dispersed accommodation, while 25 per cent live in more temporary arrangement like hotels and hostels, the statistics also show.
Around 2,000 people from Ukraine and Afghanistan have also been resettled in Nottingham through government schemes, representing 0.60% of the population, city council figures show.
There were 75,658 asylum applications made across Britain between June 2023 – June 2024, according to government immigration statistics. The top five countries of origin of people seeking asylum were Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Vietnam and Bangladesh.
The number of people waiting for a decision on their asylum claim rose above 175,000 in June 2023 before being reduced to 118,329 people by the end of March 2024, the same data shows.
The Home Office did not respond to a request for comment.
However, in July, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Parliament: “We will end the asylum chaos and start taking asylum decisions again so that we can clear the backlog and end asylum hotels.
“The new Border Security, Asylum and immigration Bill announced will bring in new replacement arrangements, including fast-track decisions and returns to safe countries.
“In the meantime, I am laying a statutory instrument that ends the retrospective nature of the Illegal Migration Act provisions, so that the Home Office can immediately start clearing cases from after March 2023.”
