Legal Fund: Supporting asylum seekers to secure sanctuary in UK
Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Who we are and what we do.
Borderlands works with asylum seekers and refugees, all of which are fleeing persecution, violence or conflict. We provide a Drop-In, a Mentoring Project, a Housing Project as well as additional supporting around destitution and integration. Most our members come from countries facing great turmoil, such as Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Here is our problem…
Securing refugee status in the UK is a massive challenge for asylum seekers and deportation is the biggest threat to their lives and safety.
However, many asylum seekers are denied legal aid and cannot afford the expensive legal fees for their asylum claims.
Legal Aid has dropped by 56% since 2005. The legal fees of the asylum process are very costly, and can range from £700 to several thousands pounds (once court fees, barristers, expert reports, etc are taken into account). Furthermore, asylum seekers are not allowed to work and therefore must rely on other means to fund their claim.
Here’s what we’re doing …
In view of the limited funding available in comparison to the high demand for support, the Borderlands Legal Fund aims to fund cases where removal is likely to result in persecution, arrest, imprisonment or death.
For each case, our Legal Fund support will take the form of contributing to the payment of :
– solicitor fees (or barrister fees where applicable)
– fresh claims
– appeals
– judicial reviews
– intervention surrounding removals
– family reunions.
As well as ensuring that individuals can pay for their as asylum claims, we support individuals with the asylum process and deportation prevention where we can.
So far, we have supported people fleeing political persecution, fatwas, terrorist organisations to persecution for their religious beliefs, from countries including Somalia, Afghanistan, Burundi to Eritrea.
You can join us !
This Legal fund is an open fundraiser as the need is ongoing. We aim to raise a minimum of £10,000 in 2019, with the hope to surpass this to meet the needs of all the referrals that come to us.
In all cases, we aim to fund only a proportion of the fees, and encourage the rest to be sourced from local community groups. This is to ensure that the Legal Fund can go further and support as many people as possible. Usual amounts provided range from £300 to £1000, but there is no fixed upper limit and we decide the level of contribution on a case by case basis.
So far in 2018 we have supported 19 people with the Legal Fund. We hope to double this figure to 40 people in 2019.
Steve Shillitoe
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$10,000.00
Funding Goal -
$0.00
Funds Raised -
0
Days to go -
Campaign Never Ends
Campaign End Method
Product Description
Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Who we are and what we do.
Borderlands works with asylum seekers and refugees, all of which are fleeing persecution, violence or conflict. We provide a Drop-In, a Mentoring Project, a Housing Project as well as additional supporting around destitution and integration. Most our members come from countries facing great turmoil, such as Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Here is our problem…
Securing refugee status in the UK is a massive challenge for asylum seekers and deportation is the biggest threat to their lives and safety.
However, many asylum seekers are denied legal aid and cannot afford the expensive legal fees for their asylum claims.
Legal Aid has dropped by 56% since 2005. The legal fees of the asylum process are very costly, and can range from £700 to several thousands pounds (once court fees, barristers, expert reports, etc are taken into account). Furthermore, asylum seekers are not allowed to work and therefore must rely on other means to fund their claim.
Here’s what we’re doing …
In view of the limited funding available in comparison to the high demand for support, the Borderlands Legal Fund aims to fund cases where removal is likely to result in persecution, arrest, imprisonment or death.
For each case, our Legal Fund support will take the form of contributing to the payment of :
– solicitor fees (or barrister fees where applicable)
– fresh claims
– appeals
– judicial reviews
– intervention surrounding removals
– family reunions.
As well as ensuring that individuals can pay for their as asylum claims, we support individuals with the asylum process and deportation prevention where we can.
So far, we have supported people fleeing political persecution, fatwas, terrorist organisations to persecution for their religious beliefs, from countries including Somalia, Afghanistan, Burundi to Eritrea.
You can join us !
This Legal fund is an open fundraiser as the need is ongoing. We aim to raise a minimum of £10,000 in 2019, with the hope to surpass this to meet the needs of all the referrals that come to us.
In all cases, we aim to fund only a proportion of the fees, and encourage the rest to be sourced from local community groups. This is to ensure that the Legal Fund can go further and support as many people as possible. Usual amounts provided range from £300 to £1000, but there is no fixed upper limit and we decide the level of contribution on a case by case basis.
So far in 2018 we have supported 19 people with the Legal Fund. We hope to double this figure to 40 people in 2019.
Steve Shillitoe
| ID | Name | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1244 | Listing Agent | [email protected] | |
| 1215 | Listing Agent | [email protected] |
