Covid-19 and Praxis services

We find ourselves in an exceptional circumstance, and we are as dedicated as ever to protect, support and work with migrants in need. To protect our staff and service users we have taken the difficult decision to close our building for drop-in advice and face-to-face group activities until further notice, but this doesn’t mean that we have stopped supporting those who have made the UK their home.

We are providing free immigration advice over the phone on Wednesday afternoons from 2pm to 4pm and additionally on Thursday mornings from 10am to 12.30pm. To speak with an adviser, you can call 020 7749 7608 or 020 7749 7605.

Advisers at Praxis will continue with their current casework but will prioritise people with No Recourse to Public Funds or those with approaching application deadlines.

Illustration by Javie Huxley

After a few months of online group activities, group members have now started meeting again in small, socially distanced groups. Lockdown has had a toll on everyone, and we want to make sure that group members are able to safely access their support networks to reduce isolation. At the same time, we are continuing to run online group activities on a regular basis - this includes WINGS, Brighter Futures, GIANTS and Praxis Service User Forum, as well as yoga and English classes.

If you are a group member, your leaders will be keeping in regular contact to update you on what online activities we will be running, when groups will be back, and to make sure you have all of the information and support you need to keep well.

We are making sure that the residents living in our housing project are safe and able to self isolate. We are regularly communicating with the families living in the project and with their social workers, and we recently started taking new referrals. Our residents are receiving steady supplies of cleaning products and toilet paper, and social services are ensuring that they have enough financial support.

The virus disproportionally hits BAME communities, and those coming to Praxis are among the most at-risk categories. We are sending welfare grants to families and individuals living in crippling destitution, and since March we have called 593 people to make sure they knew how to protect themselves.

Click here for more information and useful contacts. We will keep the situation under review and will update our website with any future changes.