Thread by @SYMAAG

"If she doesn't like it she can leave".

200 asylum residents' lives are being put in danger at Urban House Initial Accommodation Centre, Wakefield by Mears Group and the Home Office.

Mears-run asylum housing is also failing its tenants, from Glasgow to Sheffield

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4 weeks into national Covid19 lockdown:
* Unrelated people forced to share small rooms making social distancing/isolation impossible
* Vulnerable people (inc children) still at Urban House
* No PPE, little health info for residents
* Poor food, blocked toilets, bug infestations

‘Dora’ an Urban House resident was unwell with a cough and diarrhoea. On April 19 Mears tried to force someone unrelated to share her room - too small for social distancing. She complained and was told her request "will not be granted and if she doesn't like it she can leave"

3 days before, Mears CEO John Taylor answered mounting criticism of Mears' accommodation:
"You have been receiving increased calls from service users concerned about sharing bed spaces. I give my personal guarantee that we will never ask unrelated service users to share a room.”

April 16 John Taylor stated: “Vulnerable service users have already been moved out of Urban House and provided with accommodation where they can self-isolate. This includes people with health conditions that increase the COVID-19 health risks, along with families with children ”

On April 17 there were 15 children (under 18) still at Urban House; one man with a recent kidney operation, requiring high levels of hygiene and a pregnant woman who was put in a room with no working light bulb for 4 days when she refused to share with an unrelated adult.

On April 6 Mears claimed to be "working closely with the staff at Urban House to ensure adequate supplies of PPE are available to all users of the building"
migrationpartnership.org.uk/service-update…
On April 24 we were told from inside Urban House that no residents had been offered masks or gloves

On April 6 Mears issued a policy statement on Covid-19. Relating to Urban House it said:
“We have written to all service users, in their native language as well as speaking with them regularly face to face to make them aware of government advice dealing with COVID-19”

On Friday 24 April we asked ‘Michael’ at Urban House. He told us “Just a few days ago posters were put up about coronavirus in various languages, but we still have no personal translated information, or briefings.”
Most Mears asylum tenants are also waiting for the info promised.

Health dangers at Urban House are compounded by poor food (this is a typical breakfast) and blocked toilets shared by around 200 people.
Mears were paid £1.15 billion public money to run the asylum housing contract.

Bug infestations are commonplace. 'Rose' 5 weeks' pregnant told us “I have been in Urban House for over seven weeks. I was sharing a small room and we were both bitten by bed bugs.”
She even sent us this video! (Mears accuses residents of lying about conditions at Urban House)

Mears have responded to scrutiny of their neglect at Urban House by...banning camera phones.
We were told on April 16 “This place is becoming like a detention centre. There they take away all smart phones and replace them with mobiles so nobody can take camera photos”

After pressure from residents SYMAAG and others, Home Office and Director of Public Health Wakefield inspected Urban House on April 7. Mears reported they “gave approval for the way it is operating”.
Yet again, no accountability for private companies operating the asylum system.

The brave resistance of Urban House residents continues. Three separate legal challenges have been taken by residents of Urban House against the Home Office on the basis of dangerous and unhealthy living conditions in Urban House.
The Home Office response?

The Home Office responded in each case by quickly ‘dispersing’ the individuals (who included a three year old child). They were certainly not willing for the conditions in Urban House to be examined in a Court hearing.
Other legal challenges are now underway.

Despite this & political challenges on Urban House conditions, including from @natalieben & @YvetteCooperMP people's lives remain in danger through the neglect of @mearsgroup @ukhomeoffice and @migranthelp. And we ask why BAME people are suffering disproportionately from Covid 19

We have long documented the squalor, neglect and lack of respect for tenants in privatised asylum housing. Now it is endangering the lives of asylum tenants and residents.
Read our latest report and recommendations here facebook.com/symaag.person.…
#AsylumHousing #UrbanHouse #COVID19

This issue is a national one. Mears are also failing asylum tenants in Glasgow theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/a… and Serco and Clearsprings (who've run asylum housing for years) have equally bad records.

What can you do?
* Ask your MP & councillor to raise these issues with Mears & others
* Hold Mears to account migrationpartnership.org.uk/service-update…
* Complain to Mears CEO John Taylor (address/info on our FB page)
* Support our campaign for WiFi in Mears asylum housing

fyi @natalieben @scotrefcouncil @patrickharvie @UnityCentreGlas @YvetteCooperMP @LD4SOS @MigrationYorks @MyWakefield @WDCofSanctuary @imranahmadkhan @LabourBlackNetw @ukblm @BlackLivesUK @PaulBlomfieldMP @_OliviaBlake @migrantsorg @RefugeeAction @NACCOMnetwork @caragcoventry

fyi @lgsmigrants @ZoeJardiniere @MayaGoodfellow @trillingual @MattCarr55 @AsylumMatters @migrants_rights @Right_to_Remain @ianeastleeds @novaramedia @sheff_STAR @wallsmustfall @raparuk @GMIAU @gmhousingaction @ACORN_tweets @CityofSanctuary @insidehousing @IRR_News @CLARESAMBROOK

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