Jesuit Refugee Service UK

Safe Homes, Safe Minds: Reflecting on World Homelessness Day and World Mental Health Day | JRS UK Everyone deserves shelter and a place to heal

Everyone deserves a place to heal, to grow, and to call home.

Read more in our latest blog: www.jrsuk.net/blog/safe-homes-safe-minds

At JRS UK, we know that safety, belonging and community are vital to recovery.

Through our At Home Hosting Scheme and Accommodation Projects, we support refugee friends who have faced years of instability and exclusion.

It feels fitting that #WorldHomelessnessDay and #WorldMentalHealthDay fall on the same date.

Together, they remind us that a safe home is the foundation for wellbeing.

This is a values crisis.
We must ask: what kind of society do we want to be?
One that profits from people’s suffering - or one that treats everyone with dignity, compassion, and justice?
We can build a better system.
🫂One rooted in care, not contracts.

The report made clear, practical recommendations:
✅Give asylum seekers the right to work
✅Increase financial support
✅Provide culturally appropriate, nutritious food
✅End the use of hotels and institutional accommodation

Last year, JRS UK and @sustainweb.org published a report revealing widespread malnutrition and food insecurity among asylum seekers in London.

www.jrsuk.net/news/jrs-uk-...

Behind this crisis is a deeper issue: the UK government has outsourced asylum accommodation to private companies, who are making millions from these contracts. Meanwhile, those they are paid to support - people seeking safety - are being denied the basics of life.

Asylum hotel provider makes £180m profit despite claims of inedible food and rationed loo paper Asylum seekers and charities tell BBC of

People seeking asylum housed in hotels are receiving small, poor-quality meals that don’t meet their nutritional or cultural needs. Many are left relying on foodbanks just to get by.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Last year, JRS UK and @sustainweb.org published a report revealing widespread malnutrition and food insecurity among asylum seekers in London.

Behind this crisis is a deeper issue: the UK government has outsourced asylum accommodation to private companies, who are making millions from these contracts. Meanwhile, those they are paid to support - people seeking safety - are being denied the basics of life.

Many people seeking asylum face complex challenges proving their nationality and right to protection. With dedicated legal guidance, justice and hope become possible. This Jubilee, will you help people seeking sanctuary to access vital legal support?💙
Visit: www.jrsuk.net/jubilee for more!

Learn more about why so many people are wrongly refused asylum - only to later to be recognised as needing international protection - and why legal support is so vital here:

www.jrsuk.net/autumn2025

“As we come towards this Jubilee of Migrants and Refugees, what is wonderful for JRS UK supporters to know is that the activity they undertake and the words they proclaim give hope. This is the year of Hope. Remember hope.”
Bishop Paul McAleenan,
Lead Bishop for Migrants and Refugees

We welcome the appointment of Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury. Our prayers are with her as she takes on this role at a time when so much in our society seeks to divide us and teaches us dehumanise each other. May her leadership support communities of love and reconciliation

We pray for healing for communities living in fear. We must resist the hatred, racism, and antisemitism that endangers lives and tears our communities apart.

Our hearts are broken to hear of the lethal attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester. Our thoughts and prayers are especially with the victims whose lives were cut brutally short, with those who are injured, and with those who mourn their lost loved ones.

On the International Day of Non-Violence, we remember all those forced to flee due to violence and conflict. At JRS UK, we stand alongside refugees who have endured unimaginable hardship, while working together for peace, justice, and a place to call home.💙

Mimi’s poem captures the reality of a system stacked against people seeking sanctuary - delays, shifting policies, and silence. Yet her words show strength and the will to be heard. This Jubilee, help ensure access to vital legal support: www.jrsuk.net/jubilee

Together, Autumn 2025 | JRS UK Creating Communities of Hospitality

Take action today: write to your MP and call for an asylum system that protects, not punishes - one that upholds justice, dignity, and hope.

Find a template letter at: www.jrsuk.net/autumn2025

Wrong refusals are alarmingly common - with devastating human costs.
But change is possible. MPs are elected to represent us, and when they hear from their constituents, they listen.

The asylum system in the UK is broken - complex, hostile, and leaving many people seeking sanctuary in prolonged limbo.

From high standards of proof, to poor decision-making, to a lack of legal support, people who come here for safety are instead faced with disbelief, delays, and even punishment.

Bishop McAleenan's message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2025 - Catholic Bishops' Conference Bishop McAleenan celebrates the contribution of migrants and refugees encouraging awareness of the difficulties they face.

Our duty is to care for those who seek refuge in our country" - Bishop Paul McAleenan

This year, the Church's celebration of World Day of Migrants and Refugees will be marked on 4th and 5th October as a Jubilee. Read Bishop Paul McAleenan's message here:

Refugee Gifts are beautifully crafted cards designed by a refugee graphic designer for JRS UK💌

Each card sponsors a vital service for refugees - such as travel to appointments, hot meals, legal support, accommodation support, or phone credit.💙

Browse our collection: www.jrsuk.net/refugeegifts

On #InternationalDayofPeace, we remember peace is more than the absence of war – it’s welcome, justice & hope. At JRS UK, refugee friends show us peace is built in community: sharing food, gathering, & recognising each person’s dignity. We stand with all seeking sanctuary.

We encourage all those who care about justice and compassion to join us in urging the UK and French governments to honour their obligations and uphold the right to seek asylum. @jrseurope.bsky.social

As we approach the Jubilee of Migrants and Refugees, we take up Pope Leo's call for our communities to be a living witness to hope.

Countering those who prey on these injustices, whether people smugglers or human traffickers, is crucial. Blaming the people who have become the currency of criminals is both morally and politically abhorrent.

Too many people are being made vulnerable by conflict, instability, poor governance and corruption, climate displacement, and poverty.

Behind every border policy are human lives, each with dignity and rights that must be upheld.

The Jesuit Refugee Service accompanies people seeking sanctuary, including some detained under this scheme, and we remain deeply concerned by the lack of transparency and accountability surrounding its implementation.