Elizabeth, ASSIST client

When my asylum claim appeal was rejected I was removed from my G4S accommodation. This was a very worrying time because I did not know where to go next. I found out about ASSIST through a family member who had talked to a volunteer at a Conversation Club. When I was evicted from my accommodation, an ASSIST volunteer collected me from the house and let me stay with her for a week before I moved in to the night shelter. Staying in the night shelter was tough but this protected me from the danger of sleeping on the streets.

ASSIST provided me with a phone so that I could stay in contact with my family, they also gave me a weekly allowance and a bus pass, without that bus pass I would not have been able to continue my studies at college. Most importantly ASSIST was a support network that I knew I could rely on.

I was eventually moved out of the night shelter and stayed with hosts. Having somewhere stable to stay meant that I could work on my appeal and attend college, I never missed a day.

In 2015 I was granted leave to remain. I am now studying at Sheffield Hallam University, I have a job and I have learnt to drive. Without ASSIST none of this would have been possible. ASSIST put me on the right path and I will always be grateful for all of their help. I now want to volunteer with ASSIST to repay their kindness and help others who find themselves in the same situation as I was in.