Support and care for asylum seekers

Where do you do your weekly shopping? How do you choose which supermarket to go to: proximity, price, or range of goods? How much of your weekly shopping do you buy in small shops or in markets?

How would you cope if you had no cash? How would you manage if you could only buy things in one named supermarket? It would be more difficult if the nearest branch were a long way off. Even more difficult if you haven’t the bus fare to get there.

This is the situation of those asylum seekers who receive support from the government under section 4. Section 4 support. They receive £35 in supermarket vouchers per week and they rarely have the choice of which vouchers they receive.

The result is that asylum seekers often sell their vouchers for much less than face value, so that they can buy bus tickets to attend college, to report at immigration reporting centres or to attend medical and legal appointments. The going rate for the vouchers from unscrupulous individuals locally is £20 cash.

The Jesuit Refugee Service has a scheme which allows for the xchange of vouchers for cash at face value, usually once a month, to enable asylum seekers to buy other things that they need.

You can help – and at the same time show solidarity with asylum seekers. If you shop at ASDA, Tesco or Sainsbury consider exchanging vouchers through JRS. It costs nothing but the postage and can make a real difference to people’s lives.

ASDA and Tesco vouchers come as gift cards. These hold any unspent money on the card. Bearing in mind the range of toys, books, DVDs and so on now available in supermarkets these vouchers could make ideal gifts. Sainsbury gift vouchers are of paper. There is no change with these so they are less convenient especially for asylum seekers.

Join the network of individuals and communities who are willing to regularly or occasionally buy the gift vouchers from the asylum seekers via our office. Download the sign-up form below.

Voucher exchange information and sign-up form.