One Roof Home resident, Aisha, moves on

Aisha has been living in a ORL house for over a year and is now moving into her own flat.

I came to England with my sister Zara as asylum seekers because we were afraid for our lives. Zara was given refugee status first and she found a flat for us to live in. When the landlord found out I was an asylum seeker he wouldn’t let us live their and evicted us . We went to Y Support where the staff referred us to One Roof.  Santok, the ORL support worker offered us rooms in a shared house. Whilst we were living there Zara got a job working in a bank. She has now moved to another city as she has a new job. During the time in the house I was working with my solicitor to get my refugee status and in my spare time volunteered with local charities. 

The house I have been living in also had two other women living here. We all take turns to look after the house, keeping it clean. Once a week two volunteers come to help us to look after the garden, we’ve been growing vegetables which we can use in our cooking. 

After 6 months I got my refugee status. Santok has helped me to apply for housing, benefits, and look for a job. I have been offered a flat, Santok has helped me to furnish the flat and sort out my utilities. This will be the first time I will be living in my own flat, my next goal is to look for a job.