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She had been told by her uncle's friend that she could
only stay for a short period of time, but she had over stayed her welcome.
He informed her that she could no longer live in his house as he had
his own children and family to consider and they were over crowded.
Lan was living in a three bedroom house with eight people. Her application
for asylum was still going through the Home Office however her uncle's
friend had given her three more days to find alternative accommodation.
She had no money and she was not entitled to any public funds or employment.
When she came to Alone in London she could speak very little English
other than “yes” and “no”, however she did manage
to explain that she was homeless and had to move out of her current
accommodation by that Saturday which was in three days time. We tried
to get more information from her but the language was proving to be
a real problem. I decided to call my Vietnamese friend Hoa, who runs
a centre in Lewisham.
Lan and I went to the centre to meet with Hoa. She was welcoming and
supportive of the situation and agreed to interpret for Lan. Hoa told
Lan about all the different facilities that are provided within the
borough for Vietnamese people. Loan looked relieved and slightly more
confident.
I discovered from her letters that an appointment for accommodation
by the Home office had been missed, because she could not understand
the letter and unfortunately no one had tried to interpret the letter
to her. I called the Home Office and spoke to a very pleasant member
of staff on the phone who was willing to help. I explained that she
was ignorant of the contents of the letter and he agreed to offer her
another interview. Hoa and I told her she had been given another chance
but that was her last opportunity.
I informed her uncle that she had been offered another interview as
she was unaware of the contents of the first letter. Lan went for the
interview and was able to secure more suitable accommodation.
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