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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡

@helenbamber.org
1K followers 120 following 275 posts

We are a human rights charity. We give survivors of trafficking and torture the strength to move on.

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 19h
New vacancy! Join our Housing & Welfare team and help ensure our clients are not destitute and have secure, suitable accommodation. If you’re passionate about supporting people through complex housing and welfare systems, we’d love to hear from you. Apply here: www.helenbamber.org/who-we-are/j...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 23/09/2026
These are mums, dads and children. Families just like ours. They deserve the chance to live with dignity, stability and hope. Our clients speak to @thetimes.com about the realities of life for families living in asylum hotels. 🗞️ Read here: www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 15/09/2026
Today, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner told the House of Commons why measures in the Immigration & Asylum Bill on disclosure and the credibility of trafficking survivors are so harmful — and why they should be scrapped. Read our new briefing for more: www.helenbamber.org/resources/re...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 15/09/2026
Under proposed changes in the Immigration and Asylum Bill 2026, delays, missing information or inconsistencies in what a survivor of human trafficking says could count against their credibility. But trauma can make remembering and talking about what happened much more complicated. 🧵
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 01/09/2026
£9.95 a week. That’s all some people seeking safety in the UK receive to meet their basic needs. At the end of 2025, 4,419 children were living on less than £10 a week. No child should grow up in poverty because their family is seeking protection. 📝 more: www.helenbamber.org/resources/la...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 20/07/2026
For too long, divisive politics & dehumanising policies have shaped the debate on asylum, unfairly blaming refugees for wider challenges. Together with 200+ charities, we're calling on the new Prime Minister to reject division & instead uphold dignity, humanity and hope for people seeking safety.
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 14/07/2026
The new Immigration & Asylum Bill will significantly weaken the UK's response to trafficking & modern slavery. As John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellmp.bsky.social) explained in yesterday's debate, it will punish survivors by forcing them to disclose traumatic experiences within arbitrary deadlines.
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 13/07/2026
The UK has introduced immigration or asylum legislation almost every year over the past decade. Yet people still wait years for asylum decisions, poor outcomes are routinely overturned on appeal & too many trafficking survivors aren't identified or supported. Today MPs will debate YET another bill 🧵
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 02/07/2026
You cannot address human trafficking without supporting & protecting survivors. The government's new Immigration & Asylum Bill does the opposite. A system that punishes survivors doesn't fight trafficking but enables it. We will keep fighting this. 📑 more: www.helenbamber.org/resources/la...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 15/06/2026
This #RefugeeWeek we stand with people seeking protection in the UK🧡 The theme this year is 'courage' and at Helen Bamber Foundation, we will keep fighting for the rights of refugees, people seeking asylum, survivors of trafficking and torture. #Courage
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 21/05/2026
Our latest data shows at least 755 children were wrongly treated as adults in 2025 alone. Border officials continue to assess a person's age on appearance alone, which has been widely criticised by experts for years.
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 21/05/2026
According to Home Office data, in the last 6 months of 2025, at least 326 children were wrongly assessed as adults. Another 377 are in limbo, still waiting for a decision. The true number could be far higher.
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 17/04/2026
This week, the House of Lords strongly opposed the govt’s asylum reforms, warning they leave people in fear of being returned to danger. Baroness Lister shared the words of our client: “I wish policy makers could walk in my shoes & understand how difficult life is with insecure immigration status”
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 15/03/2026
After 10 years, Rose was finally reunited with two of her daughters in London. But her eldest has yet to join her. This #MothersDay, she shares her story and asks: “How will making refugee family reunion more difficult affect mothers like me?” Read it here 👇 www.helenbamber.org/resources/re...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 11/02/2026
The government’s plan to make refugees ‘earn’ protection by proving their ‘contribution to society’ makes their safety and stability in the UK dependent on their economic ‘worthiness.’ These are men, women, children & families who have fled conflict, torture, trafficking & extreme violence. 🧵
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 04/02/2026
The government’s plan to make refugees wait up to 20 years to settle in the UK would leave people stuck in limbo, unable to properly put down roots, build careers, pursue education or feel a sense of belonging. Research across Europe shows that long-term uncertainty doesn’t support integration 🧵
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 27/01/2026
These proposals allow refugees to ‘earn’ settlement by ‘contributing’ to society, but many of our clients cannot work due mental & physical ill-health, caused by violence & abuse. As MP @kirstysnp.bsky.social told Parliament 👇 parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/... 3/4
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 27/01/2026
Refugees need stability & security to recover from profound trauma. But the government's asylum reforms will force them to re-prove their need for protection every 2.5 years for up to 20 years before they can settle in the UK. We're already seeing the impact of this on our clients' mental health 🧵
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 18/12/2025
People seeking asylum get just £6 a week for travel. The Home Office says that's enough for “one return bus fare a week”. But one trip clearly ISN'T enough to access medical care, food & education. People seeking asylum in London urgently need free bus travel. www.helenbamber.org/resources/re...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 10/12/2025
On #HumanRightsDay today, we celebrate 75 years of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) & 25 years of the Human Rights Act. For generations, these frameworks have protected people’s dignity & safety, limited the misuse of power & upheld fairness. But they are currently under threat 🧵1/5
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 18/11/2025
Trafficking & torture survivors are often traumatised, isolated. Safety & security is vital to their recovery. But since 2019, the Home Office has been placing them in ‘prison-like’ asylum camps or in overcrowded hotels, forcing them to share rooms with strangers which can be re-traumatising. 2/4
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 15/11/2025
25 years ago, the Palermo Protocol provided the ‘gold standard’ definition of human trafficking & mandated governments to protect & support victims. But countries, including the UK, are falling behind in meeting those commitments. Read more: www.helenbamber.org/resources/la...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 05/11/2025
Legal advice is vital for survivors to navigate complex asylum systems. But many are unable to access it. Ambassadors for Change, a group of campaigners with experience of the UK asylum system, write about the barriers in getting free, quality legal advice 👇 www.helenbamber.org/resources/re...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 22/10/2025
Refugee family reunion saves lives. Last year, over half of those reunited were children fleeing dangerous situations & joining their parents. But the suspension of family reunion until next spring & plans to tighten rules afterwards could turn temporary separation into permanent loss for many. 1/3
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 18/10/2025
On #AntiSlaveryDay, let's remember that thousands of confirmed trafficking victims are still being left at risk. In 2024, only 4% were granted permission to stay in the UK, leaving 96% facing poverty & possible re-exploitation. Read our latest blog for more ⬇️ www.helenbamber.org/resources/la...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 14/10/2025
REMINDER: Asylum hotels are NOT places of luxury. They are often dilapidated, squalid & overcrowded. Being forced to live there for months (even years) causes profound harm to people. Those seeking safety in the UK must be housed in communities where they can rebuild their lives with dignity. 👇📽️
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 29/09/2025
The ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally is a terrifying example of what happens when politicians create performative, divisive policies to appease the far-right. With over 100 orgs, we ask the new Home Secretary to end the scapegoating of refugees & migrants. 📜 www.refugee-action.org.uk/OpenLetterHo...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 28/08/2025
We have been witnessing the fear, sadness & disappointment among the people we support over the last few weeks. The horrific attacks on asylum hotels are a direct outcome of the constant scapegoating of people seeking safety in our politics & the media. This must stop immediately. Our response 👇
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 31/07/2025
We regularly sees reports from our clients’ doctors concerned about children losing weight or not growing as expected due to lack of nutrition & poor-quality hotel food. In one recent case, a young child living in an East London hotel had lost 5kg due to malnutrition. This is unacceptable. 3/4
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 31/07/2025
People seeking asylum receive less than £50 a week for those in self-catered accommodation and less than £10 a week for those in hotels. With the amount being so low, thousands of parents can't afford basic items such as nutritious food, clothing and educational supplies. 2/4
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 31/07/2025
Thousands of families with children arrive in the UK every year to seek protection. But they are pushed into extreme poverty by the Home Office. Two months ago, the government froze the rates of financial support given to people seeking asylum. This has a devastating impact on children. 🧵
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 30/07/2025
Many survivors stay silent due to trauma, stigma & fear of retaliation. We must build trust, create safe reporting channels & remove barriers so they can seek help without fear. On World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, we call for systems that protect & support survivors. #EndHumanTrafficking
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 22/07/2025
Every year hundreds of children seeking protection are incorrectly determined by border officials to be adults based on a cursory visual assessment – over 600 in 2024 alone. Many are forced to share rooms with adults and end up in adult prisons after being prosecuted for illegal arrival. 3/4
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 15/07/2025
🚨 Thousands of trafficking survivors continue to be denied permission to stay in the UK despite their critical need for safety and support — a new report by @helenbamber.bsky.social, ATLEU & @ecpatuk.bsky.social reveals. Instead survivors are left in fear and at risk of further exploitation. 🧵1/3
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 09/07/2025
🚨 For the third year in a row, our data shows that HUNDREDS of child refugees, who come to the UK alone, are continuing to be incorrectly treated as adults after a visual assessment of age at the border. They are placed with strangers in adult accommodation & even adult prisons. 1/2
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 26/06/2025
As a charity that supports survivors of extreme human cruelty, we witness every day the profound & long-lasting trauma caused by torture. On UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, we stand in solidarity with all survivors globally. #UnitedAgainstTorture
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 20/06/2025
On #WorldRefugeeDay today, we celebrate the friendships, solidarity & joy among our clients, who attend our community groups every fortnight. They bond over shared experiences & fun activities & often inspire us with some extraordinary talent. 🌿🥗🎼🎨🧶 #RefugeeWeek 🧡
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 16/06/2025
This #RefugeeWeek, #OurSuperpower is resilience ✊🧡 The hostile environment that people seeking asylum in the UK experience takes a huge toll on their mental health. But the resilience and strength of our clients, many of whom continue to face tremendous hardship, inspires us every day.
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 10/06/2025
One of our Ambassadors for Change, a group of campaigners with lived experience of the UK's asylum system, spoke in Parliament yesterday! She shared her insights at the launch of a new report about the continuing legal advice crisis in the UK: justice-together.org.uk/learning/our...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 04/06/2025
Thank you to Baroness Lister for raising our concerns about children, including: ▶️The criminalisation of children wrongly treated as adults ▶️The use of flawed ‘scientific’ methods of assessing age ▶️The government's power to ban asylum claims from certain 'safe' countries such as Albania (2/3)
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 15/05/2025
On #InternationalDayofFamilies, we’re celebrating Article 8 of the Human Rights Act which protects our right to private and family life. It has helped survivors of torture and trafficking reunite or remain with their family in the UK. Read more here: buff.ly/NlCxD2M
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 08/05/2025
Overcrowded rooms, collapsed ceilings, rats, damp & black mold — these are just some of the horrific realities of living in the UK's asylum accommodation. 👇📽️ 📖 Read our latest blog on how private companies are profiting from this dehumanising housing system: www.helenbamber.org/resources/la...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 01/05/2025
We carry on her legacy at @helenbamber.bsky.social, providing specialist care for those who have experienced trafficking and torture and challenging systems that cause further harm. Through care and compassion, we give survivors the strength to move on and rebuild their lives. 3/3
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 01/05/2025
At 20, Helen worked as a nurse in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The suffering she saw there set her on a journey to never be a bystander. She believed that "victims of man’s inhumanity demand a witness" 2/3
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 01/05/2025
Today would have been the 100th birthday of our founder Helen Bamber, who dedicated her life to upholding human rights and pioneering methods of care and rehabilitation for survivors of extreme human cruelty. 1/3
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 28/04/2025
People seeking asylum can't afford bus fares in London as they get only £8.86 a week. This isolates them and impacts their mental health. On Friday we joined @citizensuk.org and others outside City Hall calling on @sebdance.bsky.social to make buses free for those in the asylum system. 1/2
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 24/03/2025
The experiences of our clients & Ambassadors for Change — a group of survivor activists in the UK at @HelenBamber — show that eligibility for legal aid does not guarantee that they will be able even to access a lawyer, let alone one of high quality. 2/3
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 24/03/2025
Access to justice is a human right and legal aid is a crucial part of the justice system. But people seeking asylum often struggle to get good quality legal advice. At least 57% of those claiming asylum or appealing a refusal are unable to find a legal aid representative.🧵1/3
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 14/03/2025
🚨 In a judgment today, the High Court has found that the government acted unlawfully in accommodating three victims of trafficking, torture & other extreme human cruelty in the asylum camp at RAF Wethersfield. www.helenbamber.org/resources/la...
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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.org · 04/03/2025
🚨 Children who come to the UK alone in hope of finding protection need specialist support. But our new report w/ the Refugee & Migrant Children's Consortium shows that hundreds continue to be wrongly treated as adults & placed at risk in adult accommodation or criminalised 1/3🧵
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