Racial Equality Council

Plymouth & Devon Racial Equality Council (REC) is an independent and impartial registered charity working across Plymouth & Devon to promote equality of opportunity and to eliminate racial discrimination.

Please find below the message from REC requesting your help and support.

The REC is sending out an urgent SOS to all it's members and friends. Our Destitution Fund and Domestic Abuse (No Recourse to Public Funds) are all but destitute and we are asking that you consider making a donation, however small to us.

We are experiencing higher levels of requests from those who have no recourse to public funds, the majority of whom are young women.

We would normally try to arrange a fund raising event, but everyone is working to capacity + and at this moment in time we are running to catch up.

Many of the staff make contributions despite their reduced hours and salaries but it is not enough. Please, if you can spare a few pounds as a one off, or if you want to make a regular donation we, and the people we work with would be so grateful. If you are able to organise any fund raising event that would also be wonderful.

These are not one offs, but examples of what we are facing every week, some of the issues we have or continue to support are:-

Young asylum seeker (female) looked after until 18 when the all support stopped. Application is going in for Indefinite leave to Remain, but in the interim she cannot work/claim benefits or has any where to live. We are supporting her in bed and breakfast.(from a very caring Woman who tries to give us reduced rates)

Young woman who is not entitled to full National Asylum support and has an Azure card. It is for £35 per week can only be used in limited stores, was called to Cardiff (immigration) this week and her letter stated she could not claim travel. We paid for her coach fare £47 plus a few pounds for bus fare the other end and for something to eat.

Young woman brought here by older british man on a spousal visa, then beaten and treated virtually as a slave, cannot access any refuge support as she cannot claim housing benefit.

Some times it is about buying a coat or a pair of shoes because the money they live on, as most of you know is 2/3rds of what you or I could claim in benefits.

We have never asked you before and wish that we didn't have to now, at a time when many of us are under financial pressures, but Please, Please consider making a donation, however small. We are seeing people going hungry, relying on food parcels, unable to buy basic toiletries, which is even more demeaning for women. Should you be able to help, however little, please make cheques payable to PDREC, 3rd Floor Prideaux Court, Palace ST, Plymouth, PL1 2AY (write on back of cheque 'for destitution fund' )