URGENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR VULNERABLE PEOPLE UNABLE TO BUY FOOD AND ESSENTIAL LIVING NEEDS DUE TO COVID-19

Barnes Harrild & Dyer is a Legal 500 recognised firm with offices based in London and Croydon that has always been dedicated to supporting society’s most vulnerable people who most need help. We have a dedicated legal aid team who for many years have provided support to countless individuals and families. In these unprecedented and difficult times, our work in the community continues, by providing legal aid and assistance to those who need it. However, we would like to go further. Therefore, we are offering urgent financial support to families and individuals in crisis who have no money, to help them buy food and essential living needs. It is only a small gesture but we hope that it will help some of those individuals and families we have fought for so long to protect.

With the UK Government concentrating the majority of its resources on the NHS and the fight against COVID-19, other vulnerable groups are being left in a financially vulnerable position with a lack of food and essential living needs.

If you meet our criteria below, please email us at enquiries@bhdsolicitors.co.uk and following our assessment, we will send to you a pre-paid E-Voucher to go towards buying essential living needs from Asda. We will consider donating £50 for families and £25 to individuals, whom owing to COVID-19 have run out of money to buy food, nappies and other basic essentials. With an initial pledge of £2000, we aim to help up to 40 families or 80 individuals as a minimum.

This scheme is being driven by our desire to give back to the community and our pro bono initiatives. Our staff at Barnes Harrild & Dyer are working voluntarily beyond their normal hours to ensure this scheme is administered and managed, with the vulnerable groups being supported.

This charitable support is available for as long as we are able to fund it and we reserve our right to refuse support without reasons and to end this offer at any time. This support can be extended if the more privileged in the community offer their support by donating to this programme, and details of how are set out below.

Our Criteria

In addition to having no money to pay for food and essential living needs; we are offering support to some of the vulnerable groups we represent set out below. You must have an email address, so that we can email you the E-voucher.

Failed Asylum Seekers

Failed asylum seekers and their children will only be able to access financial support from the National Asylum Support Service if they have a pending fresh claim. With no NASS support a failed asylum seeker is in a vulnerable position.

We will initially require you to email us a copy of your last asylum refusal decision. We may ask for further evidence as part of our assessment. If you have no money for food and essential living needs, we will consider offering you financial support.

Unaccompanied Minors and Care leavers

Unaccompanied minors are children who have arrived in the UK alone to claim asylum, and care leavers are young people aged between 16-21 who were in care and now live alone. This group should be supported by their Local Authority, but we are aware that some Care Leavers who live alone with no family to turn to are left financially vulnerable at this time. If you have no money for food and essential living needs, we will consider offering you financial support.

We will require from you evidence that you are, or were under the care of the Local Authority.

People living in the UK with no valid leave to remain

We regularly represent and secure leave to remain for those who are overstayers in the UK. With no leave to remain you may be unable to support yourself and your family and if so, we will consider offering you financial support.

We will require your most recent UKVI/Home Office decision letter and proof of your most recent expired leave to remain in the UK.

People with leave to remain in the UK with no recourse to public funds condition

Those who have lost their income from employment due to Covid-19 will be unable to claim benefits until the condition has been lifted. If you require financial support we will require you to email us your Biometric Residence Permit showing the condition and evidence of you losing your job due to Covid-19.

Victims of Trafficking and Domestic Violence

If you are unable to distance yourself from your trafficker or aggressor due to being unable to purchase essential living needs as a factor, then we will consider providing financial support.

At this stage we require your consent to refer you to the National Referral Mechanism to register you as a victim of trafficking or to a support group if you are a victim of domestic violence.

Donations

In this time of national emergency, we welcome any donors to contribute money to this cause. The ‘Pay Online’ option can be found at the top right corner of the home page of our website, www.bhdsolicitors.co.uk

When donating funds please ensure that you use ‘Covid-19 donation’ in the reference box and leave your name and contacts details and whether or not you consent to us disclosing your name to the public as a donor.

If you wish to know more about the scheme generally or before making any donation, please email us.

Barnes Harrild & Dyer Solicitors have represented thousands of vulnerable clients in the past and we wish to offer our support in these unprecedented times when the country is in a state of national emergency. It is our civic duty to do something positive for those in need, and we hope other fortunate individuals and businesses will donate towards this scheme, or alternatively take inspiration and initiate new ways to help those in need. We have been receiving alarming accounts from clients unable to feed themselves and we simply want to offer some support to as many people as possible.

Thank you.

Barnes Harrild & Dyer