Praxis campaigners with lived experience of the hostile environment spoke to officials working on the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy.

They shared their experiences of how punitive immigration policies impact them and their families. Policies like No Recourse to Public Funds, a rule that blocks millions of people from accessing a basic safety net, even in times of crisis.

We got the Government to commit to including every child in their upcoming child poverty strategy, including migrant children. In response to a question tabled by MP Uma Kumaran on our behalf, the Department for Education responded:

“In developing a child poverty strategy, the child poverty taskforce is considering all children across the United Kingdom. The taskforce recognises the distinct challenges faced by migrant children.”

We brought together people with lived experience, academics, and other frontline organisations to share their perspectives directly with officials from the Child Poverty Unity in the Cabinet Office.

In 2025 so far, we’ve run six training sessions for other professionals working with migrants and refugees. They were attended by 107 professionals.

Sharing our expertise builds capacity so that other professionals are equipped with essential skills, knowledge and understanding to support migrants at-risk of homelessness and destitution.

GIANTS, our group for men who’ve migrated, are currently doing influencing work around migrant homelessness. They are acting as a ‘lived experience’ consultation group for the Greater London Authority.

Last year we supported 2,476 people with expert legal advice, within that 1,860 were new to Praxis. Our advice team’s impact stretches all the way across London and sometimes further afield!

We’re the largest provider of free immigration advice in London. We provide legal advice at our East London base, as well as in partnership with hospitals, local authorities, and homeless organisations.

We’ve distributed around 1,000 copies of A Migrant’s Guide to the Praxis community, London Councils, and other organisations supporting migrants and refugees.

The Guide helps you access services, build community, and take care of yourself before and after securing immigration status. It has been co-produced by people who have lived experience of navigating the complex immigration system in the UK. Knowledge is power!

Last month, we welcomed Minister for Homelessness and Democracy Rushanara Ali to Praxis and discussed the Government’s commitment to cut homelessness. We explained how, for the strategy to be effective, it must recognise the role of the hostile immigration system in pushing people into homelessness.

In the last year we’ve secured £1,113,607 in financial assistance for families and individuals in urgent need.

Many of the people we work with are at risk of homelessness. For them, the Home Office’s eye watering visa fees are simply unaffordable. We help to secure fee waivers and provide wrap-around welfare support.

A member of GIANTS, our community group for men, finally secured his leave to remain after 20 long years of uncertainty.

We appealed the initial refusal from the Home Office and fellow GIANTS members went along to the hearing to support him and show their solidarity.

In the last year, more than 580 people we’ve supported with expert legal advice have received a visa or ‘right to stay’.

WINGS, our community group for women, developed skills in fundraising and co-produced a funding application for a small grant to take their children on a summer trip to Legoland. Their submission was successful, and they were awarded £2,000 to go to Legoland this summer, a trip Praxis couldn’t have afforded.

We provided data and evidence from our advice work to the inter-ministerial taskforce leading the development of a new strategy on ending homelessness.

We’re pushing for the government’s strategy to recognise the role of the hostile immigration system in the staggering levels of homelessness.