A huge, huge thank you to everyone who donated to the Windrush Winter Emergency Appeal!

Between December 2020 and February 2021, an incredible £70,000 was donated to support members of the Windrush generation who are still struggling, three years after the Windrush scandal first hit the headlines.

Thousands of members of the Windrush generation are still waiting for the money they are owed by this government, after its policies saw them lose their jobs and homes, or even wrongfully detained them. 

This money will be used to help people who are struggling financially. Whether covering bills or paying down debts, every penny raised will support people who have suffered, and are still struggling, because of the government's hostile environment.

Justice for the Windrush generation will not be fully served until the hostile environment is scrapped and the attitudes which drove its creation are rooted out. But we hope this funding will show people who have endured so much, that we stand with them and will continue to support their fight for justice.

From all of us at JCWI, Strongback Productions and Speaking Volumes Live Literature Productions, co-creators of this appeal, a huge thank you to everyone who donated and helped promote the appeal.

Windrush Winter Emergency Appeal funds

The funds were granted to the following grassroots and community organisations, to distribute to those in need:

East End Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) 

The Pilgrim Church, Nottingham

North Kensington Law Centre 

Northamptonshire Rights and Equalities Council 

The Windrush Movement UK

Preston Windrush Generation and Descendants UK 

Windrush Defenders Legal C.I.C

Claudia Jones Organisation

How these funds helped

Testimony from grantee Windrush Defenders Legal CIC:

‘B’ A 56-year-old man who has no documents to prove his legal status. Due to the lockdown ‘B’ lost all but one of his job and his full-time hours were reduced to 10 hours per week at minimum wage. The drastic drop in his income and not been entitled to social security benefits meant the he was no longer able to meet his personal financial needs including paying his rent.

B lives in the same house as his landlord who ordered him to leave and not come back until he is able to pay off the rent arrears. B resorted to sleeping rough at bus and train stations and going home with random women who will have him. We [Windrush Defenders Legal CIC] made a grant payment to B to clear off his rent arrears so he was able to go home and stay safe from the COVID virus. We also linked B with a local food bank and helped him to obtain weekly shopping from the Bread and Butter food delivery scheme that charges a small fee, which we paid upfront for him for a couple of weeks. He expressed to us emotionally that the grant we made to him has no doubt saved his life and that he is forever grateful that we came through for him at the lowest time of his life.

Other support

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported this appeal. If you would like to offer any further assistance, the organisations listed below would welcome you getting in touch. Assistance with items such as: working laptops, tablets, batches of phone cards, household items, clothing, kitchen utensils, white goods would be most welcome. Further details on how to help can be obtained by contacting:

Glenda Andrew, Preston Windrush Generation Descendants [email protected]

Bishop Dr. Desmond Jaddoo, The Windrush Movement UK [email protected]

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