A grant to cover the cost of an ID opened doors for Johan – this documentation meant he was able to access accommodation.

After moving to Scotland, Johan* starting working as a live-in carer for a physically disabled man named Owen*. The pay was very low, but Johan managed to get by as he didn’t have any rent or bills to pay. Unfortunately, this all changed when Owen sadly passed away.  

Johan, now left without a place to stay and without any source of income, was made homeless. Things were made even more difficult for him as he didn’t have settled status, and was therefore at risk of being deported. After Britain’s exit from the EU, Johan was unaware that he had needed to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, and now, without a home, was left in a very precarious position.  

During the pandemic, he was able to access accommodation due to the government’s ‘Everyone In’ scheme, which saw temporary accommodation provided to people rough sleeping across the UK. However, after this scheme phased out, Johan faced a lot more difficulty finding a place to live due to not having settled status. This is when Johan met Kenny, an EU Settlement Scheme Support Worker at Simon Scotland.  

Kenny began the process of supporting Johan through the process of applying to the EU Settlement Scheme. There were barriers to this – Johan had lost all of his ID documents which are required to begin an application, and he did not have any savings to pay for a new ID.  

This is when Kenny applied to the Vicar’s Relief Fund for a grant to cover the cost of an ID. The ID opened doors for Johan: with it he was able to apply to the Scheme, and starting his application meant he was able to access new accommodation.  

Thanks to this small grant, Johan has been able to find more stability and to look forward to the future.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy

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