I am asking for free travel for Asylum Seekers in London.

Integration with communities should begin as soon as Asylum Seekers arrive in the UK.  Free travel would help by enabling them to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings and be more active locally.  Wales  is piloting a scheme offering free transport & I am asking the Mayor of London to support the same for London.

Asylum Seekers are not allowed to work and are given only £8 a week if they are being accommodated in a hotel.  This is not enough to cover travel.  In recent months I have met Asylum Seekers who can not afford to take a bus to medical appointments, educational & recreational opportunities or immigration interviews.  Some end up walking long distances & others just miss out.

For example, over the last few months I have been volunteering locally with Asylum Seekers.  We provide three hours a week of fun, relaxation, sport, games & craft as well as English classes, emergency clothing & toiletries & check everyone has a solicitor.  Some of the people walk an hour there and back each week to attend.  For others, who may be older or less able, this walk is not possible and they end up staying alone in their room all day.

Asylum Seekers are also eventually moved on, often to new unfamiliar areas far from the friends they have started making and they can not afford to visit them.

Situations like these can have a very detrimental effect on mental health.

When we put ourselves in the shoes of the Asylum Seekers - not able to work, very little money, unfamiliar surroundings, far from family and friends & traumatised by the experiences that brought them here, I know that the general public would support free travel for Asylum Seekers.  Think back to the outpouring of concern & generous response to the refugees from Afghanistan & further back, Syria.

Please sign this petition and also email the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, at mayor@london.gov.uk