I'm Lorraine
After struggling to claim asylum in the UK, Lorraine* ended up at risk of destitution due to the Home Office placing a condition of No Recourse to Public Funds on her visa. She talks about her experience, and how Praxis supported her family to get the essential help they needed.
*Lorraine’s name and image have been changed to protect her anonymity.
My name is Lorraine, and I come from a country in East Africa. I arrived in the UK when I was in my 20s seeking asylum – my country of origin wasn’t safe for me anymore, and I had no choice other than to escape.
When I arrived here, I had no idea about how the immigration system worked, or how to get a visa. I claimed asylum straight away, but it took years and years for me to get the right papers because I was given bad advice. It didn’t take long before I became homeless. I managed to survive only thanks to the help of my church, charities and friends.
A chance to rebuild her family's life
But I slowly started to get my life back on track. I have two children, who are British. Praxis helped me to get a visa for myself and – crucially – access to public funds, so I could properly support my children.
Finally, we were able to live in our own home, that was warm and safe, and we had enough to eat again. I even enrolled at a college, where I’m studying to become a teaching assistant so that in the future I will be able to earn enough to look after my sons, while supporting other children who have special needs.
When I last got my visa renewed – a process that many people making their homes in the UK will view with trepidation – it came with three words printed on it: No Public Funds.
Stripped of support for her children
“I’m a single mother of two, and one of my children is autistic: how could I look after them, pay rent, provide food and ensure that my child receives the special support he needs, all by myself?”
Most people don’t know what this means. But for those of us living here on a visa, these words are all too familiar. What they mean is that the support I was receiving to raise my two children would immediately stop. When I read those words, my heart stopped.
I’m a single mother of two, and one of my children is autistic: how could I look after them, pay rent, provide food and ensure that my child receives the special support he needs, all by myself?
A few years ago, before I could access benefits, we were living in a hostel, the three of us squeezed into a room. There were mice and cockroaches. When I saw the No Public Funds words on my visa my first thought was that we would have to go back to that room. That my youngest son would have to leave the school he is in now, which I fought so hard for him to access.
Fighting against inhumane treatment
Denying people a safety net, especially when there are children involved, might sound barbaric, but the Home Office routinely tells families that they don’t deserve it. This is what happened to my family: from one day to the next, the Home Office took away the support we were relying on to survive: our home, our food, and my children’s access to education.
When I was told that the support we were receiving would stop, I felt like my life was disintegrating. All the savings I’d put aside for my children’s education were used up just so we could have something to eat. Once again I was relying on churches, friends and charities to survive. I quickly slipped into debt.
But I refused to give up. I challenged the decision to strip me and my children of support straight away, but it took Praxis, with the support of a lawyer, months to get the decision reversed.
For me, these were dark months, filled with fear. But eventually, the Home Office conceded and the support I’d been relying on to look after my children was reinstated.
Everyone deserves access to a safety net. Find out more about our campaign to end No Recourse to Public Funds.