Its been a challenging year and a highly productive year in which we have delivered on almost every front. And it would be a great boost for our staff, volunteers and management committee, to receive messages of support from everyone who is aware of our work or been in contact with Positive Action in Housing as partners, service users, funders etc. A selection of messages are shown below.

Removal of 600 refugee families from Glasgow City Council Accommodation

Dear First Minister,

I am writing to ask you to intervene to bring about a renegotiation of the contract between the UKBA and Glasgow City Council.

Over 350 people attended today's demonstration outside the Glasgow City Chambers in protest at the UK Border Agency's plans to forcibly clear out 600 refugee families from their council flats.
 
The mood was very much that people are determined to fight the removal plans. People seeking asylum are asking not to be put through the upheaval of having to uproot themselves, take their children out of schools, and be moved somewhere else in the "Scotland region". Perhaps the UKBA is unaware that Scotland is a country not a region.The message to the UK Borders Agency from refugees and Glasgow City Council was "Renegotiate the contract".
 
The homes that the UKBA is trying to forcibly remove refugee families from were empty and unwanted before refugees lived in them. If the clearance plans go ahead, these communities will be decimated and the housing will lie empty.
 
Refugee families face being uprooted from the communities they worked so hard to become a part of, to satisfy the UK border Agency's "integration test".
 

Messages of Support for Positive Action in Housing on the occasion of our Fifteenth AGM

Motion to the Scottish Parliament S3M-07137 - That the Parliament congratulates Positive Action in Housing on the occasion of its 15th anniversary; considers that it has provided many important and valuable services over the years in its work to improve the housing opportunities of ethnic minority communities and to support asylum seekers and refugees; acknowledges its campaigning role in relation to these and other race equality issues, and looks forward to many more years in which it can contribute to the creation of a fairer and more equal society.

- Proposed by Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith), supported by: Jackie Baillie, Mary Mulligan, Jamie Hepburn, Aileen Campbell, Marlyn Glen, Shirley-Anne Somerville, Mr Frank McAveety, Linda Fabiani, Bob Doris, Gil Paterson, Trish Godman, Patrick Harvie, Angela Constance, Robin Harper

Over fifteen gruelling years, Positive Action has provided both invaluable moral and practical support to some of the most disenfranchised and impoverished people on these islands. Despised by millions of Britons, denied human rights by official bodies and demonised by the media, these are impossibly hard times for those who seek refuge. Positive Action stands with and for them- also an impossibly hard thing in these times. I salute their commitment and courage.

- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

The PAIH Hardship Fund provides destitute refugees with food, shelter and access to legal advice. You can help us to help others by donating directly to PAIH via JustGiving.

Create your own Fundraising Page

If you would like to run, swim, cycle, grow a moustache, have your head shaved or host an event to raise sponsorship money for PAIH then JustGiving is a quick and easy way for you to set up a fundraising page and share it with your friends. You can even create a page in memory of someone or instead of wedding gifts. JustGiving provides us and our sponsors with a 100% secure, spam-free way of fundraising. Please click here to start raising money for PAIH on JustGiving.

JusTextGiving

JustTextGiving is a new way to support the work of Positive Action in Housing. You can text a donation of £1, £5 or £10 by sending the following codes to 70070;

To text £1, send the following code to 70070 - PAIH11 £1

To text £5, send the following code to 70070 - PAIH11 £5

To text £10, send the following code to 70070 - PAIH11 £10 

The Scottish Ethnic Minorities Directory is now available to buy at a cost of £25 (incl p&p) - all proceeds go to our destitution service and hardship fund which provides free shelter, food and practical support for destitute women, families and young people.

The Directory lists hundreds of local and national Black/Minority Ethnic (BME), Refugee and New migrants groups, organisations and services.

• There is no other accurate or up to date database of contacts within the BME, refugee and new migrants sector.
• Hundreds of new groups
• A must-have resource for anyone wanting to build links with BME, refugee and new migrant groups.
• No public body, housing provider, voluntary organisation or anyone trying to reach diverse groups within their communities of operation should be working without it.

To place your order please call 0141 353 2220 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Bulk discounts are also available.

Existing advertisers & purchasers please note - your Directory is already on its way to you.

The Scottish Ethnic Minorities Directory online

Our online browsable directory featuring an interactive map of all the organisations is soon to be launched - please check back for further details.

The suicide of three refugees has shocked Glasgow and the rest of the country. This is where all the racist scapegoating and tough posturing on immigration and asylum leads.

Download PDF flyer

'Welcome?' is a DVD compilation that contains five short films that show the effects of the UK's policies and offer practical suggestions on doing something about it.

It includes the film 'Welcome?' which shows how asylum seekers are forced into destitution. It follows the stories of three people as they try to survive destitution.

Taking Action is a new film resource that gives examples of what you can do to help end this suffering. "My life is frozen" says a Zimbabwean maths teacher who has been on the streets since being evicted from his flat "I'm existing, but it's not a life..."

Positive Action in Housing's housing advice service  provides free, independent, multilingual and culturally sensitive outreach housing information and advice in Glasgow, and elsewhere according to demand, to enable minority ethnic and refugee communities to access safe, affordable housing.

Strong Roots to Grow From - History & Achievements 1989 - 1995

Briefly...

In the 1950s and 1960s, the provision of suitable housing for people from ethnic minority communities was not considered a priority. The consequences of this policy continue to be felt today.

Promoting Inclusion of Minority Ethnic Communities:

A Best Practice and Training Guide for Scottish Tenants' Groups

April 2002

Contents

· Introduction & Acknowledgements

· How to use the Guide

· Legal responsibilities of tenants' groups

· Pointers for promoting Inclusion

· Best Practice Examples

· Training and Preparation

· Planning and Implementation

· Appendix 1: Best practice policies

· Appendix 2: Useful organisations and contacts

· Appendix 3: Training materials

Appendix 4: Bibliography

You can’t believe everything you read in the papers but it would appear that many people still do, particularly on the issue of asylum seekers coming to Britain.

If some of our politicians and sections of the tabloid press are to be believed, then Britain is a “soft touch” for “floods” of “beggars” and “scroungers” using the asylum system to get into Britain and claim “huge handouts”.

This briefing gives you the facts about Britain’s asylum system and destroys the myths and outright lies fuelling racist sentiment and xenophobia against asylum seekers and all visible minorities in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

For more information about this issue, check out our website at www.paih.org or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Or you can call 0141 353 2220 for networking and contact info.