Like so many people L was caught in homelessness in no small part because of his immigration status.

L has been sleeping rough, or on friend’s sofas, for over seven years and has been a guest in our winter night shelter. Despite living and working in the UK for a long time, the lack of a formal immigration status made L ineligible for the help he needed to find a home for good.

Some people living in the UK do not have a permanent immigration status and may be referred to as having a ‘NRPF condition’ which stands for No Recourse to Public Funds. This means they are not able to apply for most benefits and makes them ineligible for help available to those who do not have a home.

Our advocacy team, together with local partner organisations, work with people like L to help them navigate the complex and confusing systems they face when trying to get their immigration statuses sorted, and moreover, access the help they are entitled to.

L came to our specialist immigration advice clinic with a team member from Connection Support. He met our advocacy workers and our partner from the Hillingdon Law Centre and together we worked with him on a plan and paperwork.

After months of hard work we are thrilled to say he has been granted leave to stay in the UK. Now L is in the position to be able to get the help he is entitled to which should mean he can find a suitable and stable home.

Tabatha, one of our advocacy workers said: “It is truly amazing to see the transformation in the lives of people like L because of work that we have done with and for them.

"My favourite part about my job is how rewarding it is, knowing that we are helping people understand their rights so they can get the help they are entitled to.”