Asylum seeker suicidal after eviction from Home Office housing

‘M’, who wishes to remain anonymous, has been living in north London for two years.

His Home Office housing provider Clearsprings Ready Homes first moved him from Islington to Eastbourne - possibly without authorisation - in January.

In February, he was moved back to Barnet in north London but was then evicted for a second time within a week of his return. 

After his second eviction, M became suicidal and had to receive emergency support from his mental health team.

He has now been placed in accommodation in Reigate, Kent, hours from his mental health provider, Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust.

Migrants Organise, an organisation that supports refugees and migrants, said it believed he had been wrongfully evicted on the basis of a refused asylum claim that M successfully appealed last year.

So, Clearspring has just moved @migrantsorg's extremely unwell, suicidal member outside of London apparently without any authorisation from the Home Office. HO confirmed clearly yesterday that he's not supposed to be moved and I even explicitly asked Clearspring to note it

— Brian Dikoff (@briandikoff) January 24, 2023

M was first evicted on January 24 from accommodation in Islington. This was despite the fact that he is eligible for supported accommodation as his asylum claim is still being processed on the basis of a delayed mental health assessment.

Upon his return to north London he was placed in a different accommodation in Barnet by the Home Office.

When he was later evicted from this accommodation, M was left without any alternative accommodation overnight.

Migrants Organise stepped in to provide M with emergency accommodation for the night.

The Home Office subsequently moved him to his current accommodation in Reigate. 

READ MORE - Man in hospital after being stabbed in the stomach in Camden

Brian Dikoff, a legal organiser at Migrants Organise, said: “Cases like this happen all the time, but this one is particularly frustrating because it keeps on rolling on.

“There has been a delay to the asylum application, but this was out of the client’s hands as he awaits a medico-legal report.

 He added: “The moves have obviously been very distressing for the client.

“He was really confused – he didn’t know what was going on or where he was going.”

Read more on this topic

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A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are experiencing unprecedented pressures on the asylum system but continue to ensure the accommodation provided is safe, comfortable and secure.

 “Asylum seekers in temporary accommodation can be asked to move accommodation in light of their changing circumstances and in response to the accommodation that is available.

 “We take the health and wellbeing of people in our care very seriously and will always endeavour to make sure that when people are moved they are made aware of these changes in good time and offered the appropriate support and advice.”

Clearsprings Ready Homes said that it could not comment on individual cases but that it endeavours “to ensure that any proposed relocation of a service user is handled in a sensitive manner and takes into account any safeguarding issues there may be”.