Annual Report 2022
During 2022, the Helen Bamber Foundation Group supported more than 700 survivors of trafficking and torture and 870 vulnerable individuals with welfare advice. Of the latter, more than 80% had backgrounds of migration or asylum or were people of colour, and 45% had a disability or long-term ill health.
22 of our clients were granted some form of protective status and 69% of the survivors that had been provided with the Helen Bamber Foundation’s model of integrated care saw improvements in their wellbeing and mental health. We also grew our support of the wider sector by building partnerships and providing training to other organisations and statutory services, enabling them to deliver the trauma-focused care and high-quality representation that survivors need.
Our strategic commitment to improving the environment for survivors here in the UK and globally, beyond those we support directly, has only become more important as the impact of multiple conflicts and the cost of living crisis take effect. We have now become the home of Narrative Exposure Therapy in the UK and look forward to increasing access to this evidenced based and agile trauma treatment across the UK and internationally. The system that survivors of trafficking and torture are placed in while they seek protection from the persecution and harm they would face if returned, is a treacherous one.
More and more, the Helen Bamber Foundation sees the risk of violence, abuse, exploitation and re-trafficking amongst survivors rise because of the lack of access to basic and appropriate support. The latest move, one that punishes survivors for seeking help – the ‘Illegal Migration’ Act – challenges international human rights law and UK principles of justice as well as avoiding accountability for the ill treatment of others. However, as our founder said: “It is easy to be a bystander and I vowed never to be one”. Our clients, our team and our supporters refuse to forget the lessons of history, and we will remain steadfast in our humanity and our recognition of the humanity in others.
Thank you all for your ongoing support. Knowing that we are not on our own enables us to do the fantastic work laid out in this report, and also builds the spirits of the whole team and the survivors we work with. We would not be able to do any of our vital work without you, and we look forward to continuing our journey together. Click on the arrow below to read our Annual Report for 2022.