‘After listening, they did their job.’
‘I was living here since 2004… and I didn’t have status,’ Stella says.
When she first came to the Cardinal Hume Centre, she needed urgent help to keep her family safe. Without secure immigration status, she could not access basic support.
She had been referred by another service. ‘A friend introduced me… then after I told my story, they referred me,’ she explains. What mattered most was getting help with her immigration situation and somewhere stable to live.
At the time, Stella and her children were living with her partner. Then suddenly, that changed. ‘One day he just left and said he couldn’t continue anymore,’ she says.
With nowhere else to go, she asked her landlord if they could stay. ‘I begged the landlord,’ she says. She was too afraid to approach the council in case it affected her immigration status. Instead, the landlord allowed her and her children to stay in one room.
At the Centre, staff took time to listen and plan next steps. ‘They are friendly and they listen,’ Stella says. ‘After listening, they did their job.’
Her adviser supported her family step by step, starting with her eldest son’s citizenship, then helping Stella and her other children apply for leave to remain. The process took time, with delays and refusals along the way, but they kept going.
Without immigration status, everyday life felt uncertain. ‘When you hear that police are around… I used to feel scared,’ Stella says.
Once her status was granted, things began to change. She could finally focus on housing, although it was not straightforward. With support from the Centre, she challenged delays with the council and worked to keep her family safe when they were asked to move out.
They did a lot – calling me, giving food vouchers, helping with travel.
Alongside this, small practical help made a difference. ‘They did a lot,’ she says. ‘Calling me, giving food vouchers… helping with travel.’ She pauses. ‘She did a lot to help me.’
Today, Stella is working and studying. ‘I started working last August,’ she says. ‘Now I’ve started college as well.’
Her children are now able to enjoy being children. ‘They have no clue,’ she says of the immigration struggle. ‘They just ask, “When are we going on holiday?”’
When she was told her status had been granted, her daughter asked that same question again. Stella smiles as she remembers it.
Looking back, the change is clear. ‘Two years ago I was sitting here asking, “When am I going to get my status?”’ she says. ‘Now I’m sitting here… it’s a different story.’
Then she adds quietly, ‘It’s amazing.’