destitute

THE issue of destitute asylum seekers will be examined at a public hearing in Manchester later this month.
The Independent Asylum Commission will be in town on October 17 to hear testimony from destitute refugees about how they came to be in the situation and what they have to do to survive.
The panel - which features peers, a former judge, a bishop and human rights experts - will also listen to evidence from a range of viewpoints, sympathetic to their plight or otherwise.
Members, who are holding seven such hearings on different asylum-related issues across the UK, will then put together a report which will be published next year. The paper will feature recommendations for the overhaul of the asylum system.
Refugee Action says there are at least 1,000 destitute refused asylum seekers in Greater Manchester alone, but that the true figure could be much higher. They have no recourse to public funds and are not allowed to work, and services like healthcare and education are being withdrawn. Many are supported to some extent by their communities and inevitably some end up sleeping rough and drawn to illegal and unsafe work such as prostitution and begging.
The charity adds: "The vast majority of asylum applications in the UK are turned down. In 2005, an estimated 70 per cent of applicants were finally refused....destitution is an unworkable policy that is causing enormous suffering to vulnerable people and has completely failed in its objectives.
"There must be a better way, a fairer deal that will protect those who seek safety here, until such a time as it is possible for them to return. A humane solution must be found for refused asylum seekers that can allow them to begin to rebuild their lives and regain some sense of dignity and purpose."
More info on the hearing can be found here.
* In the evening there will also be debate examining the arguments and opportunities for change. I think they must be scraping the barrel a little bit because I've been invited to take part. It starts at 7pm at City College, Manchester.