Call for 'caring' Glaswegians to take in teenage asylum seekers

Council bosses are looking for ‘caring’ Glaswegians who have a spare room to take in teenage asylum seekers.

The youngsters who are alone in the city and may have been trafficked by criminals need a “safe and stable home” to help them settle in.

The Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) has put out a call for carers to step in and help transform their lives for the better.

A statement said: “Do you have a spare bedroom? If so, could you be a carer for an unaccompanied teenage asylum seeker?

It added: “We are looking for people who can open their home and hearts to unaccompanied asylum seekers aged between 16 to 18-years-old.”

A host family carer who took in a boy who got away from traffickers in Glasgow during lockdown told the Scottish Refugee Council earlier this year: “There was no time to overthink it. It was an emergency case, a boy who escaped from his traffickers and had been found by the police in Glasgow.

“The details were heartbreaking and the decision was easy. My lad arrived three hours later, accompanied by two social workers and a plastic bag with a toothbrush and a change of clothes.”

The carer added: “The best bit of the experience has just been having him around and watching him blossom.

“A terrified, withdrawn kid came to my home, and six months on a relaxed, funny, hard-working and considerate young man lives in it.

“There’s still a long way for him to go, he occasionally still has nightmares and bad days and he’s not as confident outside the home.”

The carers’ role is to build positive relationships with the young person and promote their independence – working in partnership with the support team.

Asylum seekers have to wait to find out if they will be granted refugee status in order to stay in the country.

It is understood there are about 5000 unaccompanied children seeking asylum across the UK with 200 in Scotland.

There were complaints over asylum seekers having to stay in unsuitable hotels in Glasgow during the pandemic. But it is understood plans are under way to return them to longer term accommodation again.

To find out more about hosting a young asylum seeker, email hostfamilyservice@glasgow.gov.uk.

By local democracy reporter Sarah Hilley