Community meal
At the Central and West Integration Network (CWIN) we have tried to create an organisation which effectively contributes to building community and helpful/needed resources, with and for people living as refugees or asylum seekers. Most people in the CWIN community are experiencing or are in the process of moving out of, poverty. When seeking asylum in the UK work is heavily restricted, including a total ban for the first year; there is a very small stipend on which to live and no recourse to mainstream public welfare. It is impossible for most people in this system to gain any financial or asset-based security for the future, so that if granted the right to work and/ or refugee status, there are still significant challenges to overcome: homelessness, lack of qualifications, no driving licence and limited material resources such as clothes, furniture, bikes, laptops and smartphones. CWIN also sees systematic inequality continue to affect people who do get their refugee status and the right to work.
CWIN works with the community to provides holistic support for people. This includes developing and delivering projects and services which improve or provide access to essential resources and services. CWIN also works with members to put on well-being activities and opportunities for personal and professional development. Recognising the importance of community and individual empowerment, CWIN is structured so that the community and individual members can take active roles in running and shaping the organisation. We also encourage and enable community-led work, advocating for change outside of CWIN.
CWIN hopes that this holistic support will help people’s independence and ability to now, or in the future, develop a financial income of their own. We believe that this is a form of cash-first approach, especially because we have tried to design our organisation such that whatever brings a person to us (which often is access to food or material resources), by accessing our food hub, office, activities or other services, they are invited to become part of the community which we support.
More directly, we help people to access ‘cash’ or protect their existing ‘cash’ resources, in order to have a better chance of meeting their needs independently, in the short-term. These are mostly available through our drop in service or as part of our one-to-one supervision, development and support of CWIN volunteers. It includes:
Help applying for under 22 and over 60 bus pass
One off material resources as they become available to us, prioritised for volunteers.
Sharing opportunities with a voucher reward
Travel expenses for volunteers (while this may not seem to be an asset for people but for those living far from services or friends, a day ticket can be an important opportunity to travel within the city)
Referrals or signposting to employment services, financial advice services, housing advice services, free material resources, disability advocacy services e.c.t.
Additionally, we have regular stalls at our community meal from Jobs and Business Glasgow and occasional stalls from ‘My Academic Family’ who offer help applying to University and Scholarships for those disadvantaged in accessing higher education.
What are some of the challenges you are facing in implementing cash first?
Staff resources are a limiting factor on a cash-first approach at CWIN. We have a large community membership base, and it is hard for us to spend the time with people required for the wrap-around support required for a sustainable cash-based approach. Meanwhile, we often lack the administrative capacity to be able to cope with demand when offering cash-based or in-kind resources. This in a large part reflects the challenge of securing sufficient and reliable funding to meet the community need.
As detailed above, people in the asylum system have NRPF. This limits the cash-resources which we can assist people in accessing and the projects we can refer them to.
Community members granted the right to work, are often not in work due to language barriers, cultural barriers and systemic inequality. These significant barriers are not necessarily recognised in the welfare benefits system, and this means that it is hard to find appropriate cash-based support.
Drop-in service
Have you used any particular resource that helped you take a cash first approach or helped you work through these challenges?
Shelter Scotland: website, training and conversations with staff there have helped us to understand people’s housing rights. This is often a significant barrier to work for people
Amnesty international and CWIN volunteers have been helping us to engage with decision makers on some of the systematic barriers to employment and education for people
Human Right's group
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who wishes to implement a Cash first approach for the first time?
Ring-fencing/ funding time and resources for reflective development on the ‘whole package’ offered by your organisation, conducted in dialogue with the community about what they think they and their community need.
What have you learned from your implementation of cash first approaches?
It is time intensive on a day-to-day and individual level and the resources and knowledge required also take time to develop. However, it is possible to make progress, using a cash-first approach, in supporting the independence and sustained well-being of people and that feels very worthwhile
Food Pantry