Going through the process of being granted asylum in the UK can be long, arduous and draining for people who have already been through traumatic events in their country of origin. Abdi went years without representation, having registered his asylum claim in 2021. This is when our Immigration Legal Service stepped in. This is Abdi’s story.

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 part of an alliance of organisations in West Sussex who work together to empower people to improve their mental health and wellbeing called Pathfinder. Pathfinder prides itself on its volunteer Peer Mentors – people 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. Clarrissa used to attend Peer Mentor groups as a client, soon becoming a Peer Mentor herself. This is her story: “When I first came to Crawley, I was in a really bad … Read more

Mia, a 75-year-old Spanish woman, was living in sheltered accommodation and had been facing significant financial difficulties for approximately five years due to an ongoing issue with her National Insurance (NI) number. This issue caused her benefits to be repeatedly stopped and reinstated, leading to substantial gaps in income. Without consistent benefits, Mia fell behind on her rent, accruing significant arrears, and was at risk of homelessness. This is her story. The Initial Challenge The root cause of the problem was an error made when Mia first registered for benefits: she was assigned the NI number of another individual with … Read more

When a person has experienced many setbacks in life, it can be difficult to find a positive way forward. Prior to coming to Route One, our mental health supported accommodation, Alice was finding it hard to cope with mental and physical health needs, a breakdown of familial relationships and substance use issues. We helped Alice gain the support she needed to see a brighter future away from sofa surfing and into independent accommodation. This is her story. When Alice was referred to Route One, she had complex needs inclusive of emotionally unstable personality disorder, and challenges with depression and intrusive … Read more

After expanding our Immigration Legal Team in recent years, we have been able to assist in more specialist immigration cases that involve domestic violence. Although most immigration cases are complicated, it can be particularly difficult to work through the layers to help someone remain in the UK when someone has experienced domestic violence. A clear example of this is Kosi’s case, who was concerned she wouldn’t be able to remain in the UK if she left her spouse. This is her story. Kosi is originally from Ghana and had been living in the UK for several years with her husband … Read more

Having someone you can rely on to help you through difficult situations is essential to a stable environment. This is what we provide in our supported housing service in Mid Sussex. Our clients each have a dedicated support worker who helps them gain independent living skills and improve their overall wellbeing. Such stability and frequent one on one support can effect great change in our clients. This was the case for Josie who came to Mid Sussex Supported Housing following a long-standing history of severe mental health issues. This is Josie’s story. Josie is a young woman with autism who … 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

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

For many people, there may come a time where they hit a breaking point and can’t carry on without support. This is the case with many of our clients experiencing homelessness, who come to First Base Day Centre to seek support from our highly trained, knowledgeable and compassionate case workers. Each client who walks through our doors receives support from a dedicated case worker to help them move away from rough sleeping. This is what one of our clients, Samuel, experienced when he came to First Base. This is his story.

BHT Sussex is a member of Pathfinder West Sussex – an alliance of organisations working together to enable people with mental health support needs, as well as their carers, to improve their mental health and wellbeing. As part of this offering, Pathfinder has many volunteer peer mentors. Peer Mentors 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. This is the how one of our peer mentors, Lindsay, became a volunteer at Pathfinder. “I ended up in hospital due … Read more

Struggling to find employment despite incredible effort can have a big impact on someone’s health and wellbeing. This was the case with Scotty, who found it difficult to identify a clear path into work after being failed by multiple services. This, coupled with the difficulty of managing a chronic illness, made Scotty feel hopeless. However, after working with BHT Sussex’s Intern Programme, who supported Scotty and his specific needs, Scotty found a way through. This is his story. Feeling hopeless “My life was pretty bleak for many years, and I did not see much of a future ahead of me. … Read more