Ethos & Values
Christ-centred - We are Christians, who believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ, and so seek to serve those who society sees as the least, the last and the lost. Everything we do through Kairos is based on our Christian beliefs; our ethos is not just what we think but how we act. We do not discriminate in any way against people, particularly our sanctuary seekers, who do not share our beliefs and values. We are concerned for the holistic well being of our sanctuary seekers; this includes physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being. We believe in the power of prayer and we aim to be available to pray together and with sanctuary seekers if we are asked to or if they accept our offer to pray. We will never impose our beliefs, pressurise people to pray or in any other way take advantage of the vulnerable people we seek to serve.
Excellence - We strive for professional excellence with integrity in all our working practices.
Empowering others - We want to see the people we work with, sanctuary seekers, volunteers, staff and supporters, equipped and released to discover meaning and purpose and flourish in their lives.
Restless for justice - We shine a light on injustice, especially where people seeking sanctuary are treated unfairly and we will fight to see change happen.
Servant-hearted - We adopt an attitude of service within the organisation and beyond, putting the needs of others before our own.
Generous - We extend a welcome to all we meet, sharing hospitality, kindness and love, and treating everyone with dignity, regardless of their background.
Excellence - We strive for professional excellence with integrity in all our working practices.
Empowering others - We want to see the people we work with, sanctuary seekers, volunteers, staff and supporters, equipped and released to discover meaning and purpose and flourish in their lives.
Restless for justice - We shine a light on injustice, especially where people seeking sanctuary are treated unfairly and we will fight to see change happen.
Servant-hearted - We adopt an attitude of service within the organisation and beyond, putting the needs of others before our own.
Generous - We extend a welcome to all we meet, sharing hospitality, kindness and love, and treating everyone with dignity, regardless of their background.
Mission
To show the love of Jesus as we provide sanctuary, build community and seek justice for asylum seekers and refugees.
What We Do
We accept referrals of asylum seekers whose cases have failed. They have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) and are Appeal Rights Exhausted (ARE). We believe they do, however, have a solid basis for a legal claim to qualify for refugee status. They have faced persecution in their home country for reasons of race; religion; nationality; political opinion; or membership of a particular social group. When they are referred to us, they are homeless (or at risk of homelessness) and destitute, with no source of income and no entitlement benefits.
Research published in July 2023 by NACCOM shows that people who are refused asylum in the UK, in many cases unjustly, can face extreme hardship, including destitution, homelessness and declining physical and mental health, following a negative decision on their asylum claim.
Kairos Housing provides this individuals with free, safe and secure, supported housing. Whilst housed with us we provide a small weekly support payment and other support of donations in kind towards essential living supplies.
This accommodation is offered on a short-term basis (usually up to one year). Whilst housed with us they will have a support worker who will signpost them to services they can access for example, support to register with a GP, signposting to casework and local social drop-ins and English Language learning provision. We also keep them on track with their legal case as we know this is their route out of destitution. We hope these cases will be successful so that the sanctuary seekers we support can go on to meet their full potential and rebuild their lives in the UK.
We also accept referral of refugees in the move on period after receiving a positive decision from the home office and are homeless (or at risk of homeless). Kairos Housing service users have multiple needs, owing to their experiences as refugees fleeing persecution, travelling thousands of miles to arrive in the UK, going through the asylum process in the UK, dealing with an alien culture and new languages and then working through the various stages of integration once they have been granted leave to remain. We offer specialist support including the use of interpreters where required. Our service users have multiple levels of disadvantage, and we work with them to overcome these and to help them understand their rights and entitlements. Due to the combining challenged of enduring mental health problems combined with language and understanding barriers the individuals we support are in great need of support to learn how to manage and sustain and a tenancy both safely and appropriately. We work with them to not just navigate life in the UK, but we set them up to thrive.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs puts forward that people are motivated by five basic categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualisation. We believe higher needs in the hierarchy can be achieved when sanctuary seekers have their physiological, safety and love and belonging needs, which Kairos Housing seeks to provide.
Research published in July 2023 by NACCOM shows that people who are refused asylum in the UK, in many cases unjustly, can face extreme hardship, including destitution, homelessness and declining physical and mental health, following a negative decision on their asylum claim.
Kairos Housing provides this individuals with free, safe and secure, supported housing. Whilst housed with us we provide a small weekly support payment and other support of donations in kind towards essential living supplies.
This accommodation is offered on a short-term basis (usually up to one year). Whilst housed with us they will have a support worker who will signpost them to services they can access for example, support to register with a GP, signposting to casework and local social drop-ins and English Language learning provision. We also keep them on track with their legal case as we know this is their route out of destitution. We hope these cases will be successful so that the sanctuary seekers we support can go on to meet their full potential and rebuild their lives in the UK.
We also accept referral of refugees in the move on period after receiving a positive decision from the home office and are homeless (or at risk of homeless). Kairos Housing service users have multiple needs, owing to their experiences as refugees fleeing persecution, travelling thousands of miles to arrive in the UK, going through the asylum process in the UK, dealing with an alien culture and new languages and then working through the various stages of integration once they have been granted leave to remain. We offer specialist support including the use of interpreters where required. Our service users have multiple levels of disadvantage, and we work with them to overcome these and to help them understand their rights and entitlements. Due to the combining challenged of enduring mental health problems combined with language and understanding barriers the individuals we support are in great need of support to learn how to manage and sustain and a tenancy both safely and appropriately. We work with them to not just navigate life in the UK, but we set them up to thrive.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs puts forward that people are motivated by five basic categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualisation. We believe higher needs in the hierarchy can be achieved when sanctuary seekers have their physiological, safety and love and belonging needs, which Kairos Housing seeks to provide.
Our Aims
- To house individuals with NRPF in Blackburn with Darwen.
- To house individuals at risk of homelessness who have recently been awarded refugee status within Blackburn with Darwen.
- To provide a small weekly support payment and other support of donations in kind towards essential living supplies for the asylum seekers we house.
- To signpost our guests to appropriate local services.
- To support our asylum-seeking guests to access legal support.
- To see our asylum-seeking guests achieve section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 with the Home Office providing housing and financial support.