Giving Compass' Take:

• Stephen Hale from Refugee Action details how COVID-19 impacts asylum-seekers and how philanthropists can offer support to this population. 

• What are the most significant barriers for asylum seekers during this time? 

• Read more on supporting immigrant communities during the pandemic. 


The government response to Covid-19 aims to provide a safety net for people most affected, through furloughing, universal credit, and other measures. But people seeking asylum live outside the mainstream safety net. In this case study, Stephen Hale from Refugee Action explains the dramatic change in the needs and risks faced by refugees, their response, and how philanthropists can help.

Local charities are a lifeline for many seeking asylum, yet lockdown is dramatically undermining their ability to operate. Small charities are far less likely to have IT equipment, unable to make remote cash payments, and struggle to use interpreters as this role was previously played by face to face volunteers. Many of their clients are also unable to receive remote service delivery even when it is available due to a lack of access to IT and bank accounts.

How philanthropists can help:

  1. Supporting frontline services: Refugee Action and other charities need increased funding now to sustain and wherever possible expand their direct support to people seeking asylum in the UK and meet the increased and urgent needs among this group of people outside the mainstream safety net.
  2. Supporting charities to adapt: Refugee Action’s good practice team is working with local charities to identify the critical issues that are limiting their ability to operate remotely and to develop, test and share solutions to these through agile digital service design. The top priority identified by these organisations is to establish remote destitution payment mechanisms suitable to the needs of this group of clients. Other issues include remote working and access to interpreters.
  3. Advocating for a reformed asylum system: The speed of Home Office decisions and the way in which they are put into practice will be the single biggest determinant of the health and welfare of people seeking asylum over the coming months.

Read the full article about how philanthropists can help asylum-seekers by Stephen Hale at NPC.