For some it comes as a surprise that BHT Sussex runs an immigration and asylum legal service. The overwhelming majority of those we work with are ‘unaccompanied minors’, young people and children arriving in the UK with no adults to look after their welfare.

Baddar came to the UK in 2008 aged 15 fleeing persecution in Afghanistan. His initial asylum claim was refused. We assisted him with a further application to allow him to remain in the UK but this was also refused. After this, there have been numerous appeals with every decision seeming to go against him. We gathered evidence in support of his claim to show that he is particularly vulnerable as he has a learning difficulty and suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression.

We gathered country evidence to support the fact that he would be at risk if he returned to Afghanistan.

Navigating the benefits system can be incredibly difficult, which is why our staff in the East Sussex Floating Support Service are highly trained and knowledgeable about the system. This allows us to help many people across East Sussex who are struggling to access benefits and ultimately improve their quality of life. One such person is Dinah, who came to us for help accessing more financial support. This is her story. The Initial Challenge Dinah is a homeowner who lives with a variety of health conditions, including osteoarthritis, diabetes, hypertension, mobility issues, and has a history of falls. Due to having … Read more

Paul is a 49 year-old man who was street homeless in Brighton for four years, suffering from heroin, crack cocaine and alcohol addiction.

He also has multiple physical health difficulties. For a long period of his life, Paul’s closest companion was his dog Lil. As Paul explains in this account below, he was someone who other support services found difficult to reach, but he eventually managed to turn his life around with the support of BHT Sussex’s Addiction Services.

Neil started sleeping rough around two years ago. He was suffering from physical and mental health problems that had been exacerbated by life on the streets.

When he first started coming to First Base, Neil was sleeping under Brighton’s Palace Pier. After sleeping out all night, he looked forward to the chance to get warm and have a shower, put on clean clothes, and have a hot meal. More importantly, he was able to get support and advice to help him find a way out of rough sleeping.

First Base supported Neil to access temporary accommodation but after a serious deterioration in his mental health he was admitted to hospital. While he was in hospital Neil lost his accommodation and, on discharge, he returned to rough sleeping

Sometimes people who we have supported contact us years after their time with us just to say thank you. It is always wonderful to hear from people who have turned their lives around, and a powerful testament to the long-term impacts of our services. Steve got in touch nearly ten years after he stayed at Phase One, our high-support hostel for people who are homeless in Brighton, where we work with people to address the root causes of their homelessness. This was Steve’s message to us.   Hi all at BHT Sussex, I just wanted to email you all as … Read more

There can be many factors that build up to cause someone to be insecurely housed. For Jacqui, the loss of her job and the breakdown of her marriage led her to become a member of the ‘hidden homeless’ population, as she was sofa surfing. This is when she sought the help of the Accommodation for Work project at BHT Sussex. Jacqui first came to the project following her separation from her ex-husband. He retained the family home to look after their children as he was not working. After moving out, Jacqui stayed on her mother’s sofa and worked part time. … Read more

The Hastings Young People’s Service does what the name suggests, providing accommodation and support for homeless young people in Hastings and St. Leonards. Frankie came to the service in October 2016. She had held a tenancy elsewhere but due to relationship breakdown, found it difficult to cope and was ultimately evicted. This left her homeless and socially isolated.

Frankie responded positively to having stability and a constant source of support from the staff team. She engaged well with her key worker using a PIE (Psychologically Informed Environment) approach and she was able to explore reasons for her isolation, history of self-harming, depression, aspirations and visualising what her future would look like. This helped Frankie understand her needs and make a plan to move on.

Wendy and her adult son, who both live with autism, were facing severe housing challenges. Wendy is the sole carer of her son, who has mobility issues, and they were living in a property that was unfit for habitation. This is Wendy’s story. Wendy’s home was in a state of severe disrepair, with frequent flooding rendering the downstairs of the house uninhabitable. The constant environmental hazards worsened the challenges for Wendy and her son, making it increasingly difficult for both to maintain any sense of stability or comfort in their living conditions. Additionally, both Wendy and her son were agoraphobic … Read more

BHT Sussex is one of the only Legal Aid providers in the South East, making the work of our Immigration Legal Service incredibly important. This service provides advice and representation for many people trying to claim asylum in the UK. As part of this service, we help and represent many minors who have arrived in the UK unaccompanied. This was the case with Iva. This is her story. Iva was kidnapped as a 15-year-old and brought to the UK by traffickers who intended to exploit her. She managed to escape from her trafficker when she arrived in the UK and … Read more

Shore House provides accommodation and support for people with multiple and complex needs. That means they will have a combination of alcohol and drug addictions, mental health problems, and other chaotic or destructive behaviours. Often they will have experienced repeated trauma throughout their lives.

Mo moved to Shore House after being discharged from Mill View Hospital. Before her hospital admission she had been evicted from three services for violence, aggression, and causing extensive damage to her room.

She had a history of being street homeless and she displayed various anti-social behaviours including urinating and defecating in gardens, damaging cars, shouting verbal abuse, and making allegations of assault and rape when attempts were made to remove her from private property.

Pathfinder West Sussex is an alliance of organisations working together to empower people to improve their mental health and wellbeing. BHT Sussex is part of this alliance. Pathfinder prides itself on its volunteer Peer Mentors, who use their lived experiences of mental health challenges to create a supportive environment where their clients can discuss their needs, as well as work towards achieving their goals and aspirations. Harsha first came to Pathfinder in 2014. This is her story. “In 2011, I was at my lowest in my life. I was alone, lonely and felt isolated from everyone and everything around me. … Read more

Increasingly we are working with people who are in work or who become homeless having lost their job. Our Accommodation for Work Project was set up to help people like Enes. He worked as a chef and lived in shared accommodation in Brighton. When the job came to an end, he struggled to find another job. His landlord would not accept housing benefit and he quickly became homeless.

He slept rough in doorways, struggling to find work and accommodation. He made a homeless application with the council and was referred to our Accommodation for Work Project. This was the first time in his life that Enes had been homeless. When he came for his interview, it was clear that he was in a state of shock. Mindful that he was rough sleeping, project staff made it possible for him to view a room the same day. Fortunately for Enes, a room had become vacant just the day before.