We stand in solidarity with all those in Greater Manchester who are facing housing injustice.
This includes all those who, amidst the UK’s escalating housing crisis, are homeless, driven into debt by sky-rocketing rents, or forced to live in unsafe, unsanitary or overcrowded conditions. And it includes those seeking sanctuary stuck for years on end in Home Office accommodation, many of them in asylum hotels – whose hyper-visibility in the public eye conceals the prison-like conditions within.
These are often thought about as separate issues – one to be addressed by housing activists and homelessness organisations, the other the remit of the refugee and asylum sector. But these injustices share common roots – the devaluing and commodification of human life and the turning of housing from a social good into an asset; and they share common features – dehumanising restrictions on dignity and autonomy. They must be united.
Uniting these struggles is more urgent than ever, as cynical right-wing actors are dividing us against each other by blaming the housing crisis on people seeking sanctuary. These opportunists have answers for no one – but unless real answers are offered to address the injustices that flow from the housing crisis, their racist scapegoating will continue to resonate with the pain and suffering of individuals and communities failed by decades of housing policy.
We – diverse organisations working on housing, homelessness, migration and asylum – commit to fight for housing justice for all by:
- Uniting these struggles in our advocacy to reject the neglectful, punitive and divisive state that has emerged over recent decades in favour of a state that offers hope, care and justice for all
- Standing against those who divide us against each other by stoking fear and resentment
- Building solidarity between those facing different forms of housing injustice, listening to real and legitimate concerns, to develop visions of housing justice where everyone – no matter skin colour, class background, immigration status – is safe and secure to live their lives as part of thriving, flourishing communities.
Sign our statement here:
List of Signatories:
- Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit | Denise McDowell
- Greater Manchester Law Centre | Jason Tetley
- Greater Manchester Tenants Union | Chris Moore
- Ross Bofinger
- These Walls Must Fall | Magadaline Moyo
- Right to Remain | Eiri Ohtani
- Harpurhey Neighbourhood Project CiO | Dale Johnson
- Ann Wheeler
- Rough Sleepers’ Accommodation Programme | Dawit Solomon
- The Gaskell Garden Project | Daniel Isaac
- Geoffrey Andrew
- Greater Manchester Housing Action | Isaac Rose
- Unite branch NW389 | Olivia Ouwehand
- Tom Williamson
- Manchester City of Sanctuary | Pascal Checkley
- Caribbean and African Health Network | Sandy Koujou
- Roger Howard
- Stephen Hunt
- Farhad Ghahremani
- SREP | Aba Graham
- Community Church of the Nazarene, Longsight |Rev. Nicole McConkey
- Farhad Ghahremani
- Debt Justice | Eva Watkinson
- John Nicholson
- Fallowfield & Withington Foodbank | Nicholas Prescott
- Advice for Renters | Charlotte Vale
- Liz Littler
- Ryan Bradshaw
- Maternity Action | Ros Bragg
- Helen Sharples
- Greater Manchester Law Centre | Arwa Graf
- Bakers, Food & Allied Workers Union | Ian Hodson
- Amanda Wait
- Bridging the Gap (Manchester) | Michelle McHale, BEM
- Salford Citizens Advice | Tom Togher
- Garden Court North Chambers | Lily Lewis
- Public Interest Law Centre | Jean Demars
- Manchester Central Foodbank | Matthew Stallard
- BFAWU Branch 405 | Peter Fox
- Tony Openshaw
- Robert Lizar
- Ciara Bartlam
- Edward Garner
- Oglesby Charitable Trust | Louise Magill
- Manchester Amnesty International Group | Alison Wearden
- Samina Khan
- Greater Manchester Poverty Action | Graham Whitham
- Manchester Refugee Support Network | Bridget Taylor
- Prinsili Sukitharan
- Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit |Elsiddig Ismail
- Eileen Moran
- Manchester Migrant Solidarity | Aderonke Apata
- African Rainbow Family| Aderonke Apata
- Manchester Immigration Detainee Support Group | David McHugh
- Just Futures Research Centre | Kate Smith
- Tanya Hassan
- Prossy Kakooza
- Benjamin Ugiagbe
- Mayya Diab
- Muhammad Arif
- Cllr. Mary Thomas
- Amy Squire
- Zack Gillespie
- Safety4Sisters | Jasmine Mohammad
- Oldham Unity | Stewart Bailey
- Middleton Co-operating | Veronika Susedkova
- Andrew Wastling (Mental Health Campaigner)
- Gaddum | Michael Dietrich
- Groves Residents | Paul Keeble
- WERS/IMIX | Sadia Sikandar
- WAST Manchester | Yasmine Abachi
- Stella Ridgway
- Beauty for Ashes Refuges | Becky Barlow
- Andy Walsh
- Ross Simmons
- Greater Manchester Patients Not Passports | Jason Ioannou
- The People’s Assembly – Manchester | Karen Buckley
- Cllr. Linda Foley (MCC)
- Manchester City of Sanctuary | Cameron Boyle
- Cllr. Alan Good (MCC)
- Red Roots Collective | Mojgan Bakht
- Barnabus | Yvonne Hope
- Rainbow Haven (The East Manchester Community Association) | Kate Wilkinson
- REVIVE CIO | Joseph Kiwango
- We Belong | Asli Ali
- Shelter | John Ryan
- Coffee4Craig | Risha Lancaster
- Salford Loaves and Fishes | Jennifer-Anne Smith
- The Booth Centre | Paul Newcombe
- Rethink Rebuild Society | Moaz El Sayed
- Manchester Refugee Support Network | Belay Kahsay
- No Borders Manchester | Amie Kirby
- Growing Together Levenshulme | Jaqui Cotton
- Cllr. Ekua Bayunu (MCC Hulme)
- Altrincham Baptist Church | Rachel Muter
- Asylum Matters | Julia Savage
- Caritas Diocese of Shrewsbury | Ben Gilchrist
- Caritas Salford | Patrick O’Dowd
- Citizens Advice Manchester | Andrew Brown
- GM Homelessness Action Network | Philippa Iwnicki
- Macc | Mike Wild
- Cllr. Debora Hilal (MCC)
- Manchester City of Sanctuary | Liz Hibberd
- North Manchester Community Partnership | John Curtin
- Refugee Action | Tim Naor Hilton
- The Boaz Trust | Ros Holland
- The Brick | Keely Dalfen
- The Vine Methodist Church | Kevin Jaquiss
- Women Asylum Seekers Together | Yasmine Abachi