Standing with migrant communities in Kingston: Migrant Advocacy Service

Migrant communities often face a wide range of challenges, from navigating complex immigration systems to secure stable housing, employment, and access to essential services. Many arrive seeking safety, stability, and new opportunities, yet they often encounter significant barriers, including food insecurity, isolation, and a lack of community support. For those placed in temporary accommodation – especially families with children – these struggles are even more acute, as they frequently lack access to cooking facilities and nutritious meals.

Migrant Advocacy Service is dedicated to providing holistic support for migrant and resident communities through advice, guidance, and community outreach. For many migrant families living in temporary accommodation, accessing nutritious food is a daily struggle, as they often lack cooking facilities and resources to prepare meals.

To address this urgent need, we are proud to have funded their kitchen and hot meal provision, ensuring that vulnerable families have the opportunity to enjoy hot meals. This initiative builds upon their existing community lunch programme, which has already provided asylum seekers and migrants with food, social connection, and access to wellbeing activities.

Previously, the organisation hosted a community lunch near an asylum hotel, where residents could gather for a shared meal and participate in free activities and support sessions. Some attendees even expressed a desire to cook their own meals, and the programme accommodated them whenever possible. However, with the asylum hotel now repurposed as temporary accommodation – without any cooking facilities – there is an increasing need for access to kitchen space.

In response, the programme will be expanded to allow residents of the hotel to book time to cook their own meals, eat in a communal setting, or take their food back to their rooms. In addition to meal provision, families will be encouraged to participate in wellbeing activities designed to foster social inclusion, reduce isolation, and provide essential support during challenging times.

By funding this initiative, we are helping to ensure that migrant families facing hardship are not only fed but also given the dignity, choice, and community support they deserve.

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Every penny donated goes directly into helping those in need. 🙏💙