Happy New Year you wonderful bunch!!
Have you made your New Years’ Resolutions? Have you already broken them? We at HQ hope you are being kind to yourselves and remembering that you are all already wonderful people who do a lot of good in the world. We know times feel uncertain but we hope that knowing you are part of a community of kindness can help get us all through. This week’s nomination is for someone who is feeling that uncertainty more sharply than many. Despite having lived in the UK for 17 years and having worked in a whole range of jobs - from a paper round when he was 11, to being a kitchen porter and assistant chef whilst also training to work in Film and TV, and also volunteering at community centres and with the elderly, he is now being told he should return to Jamaica. He is fighting his case but cannot work in the meantime and feels let down and frightened about what happens next. “I came to the UK when I was 10. The Jamaica I left is not the same Jamaica I’d be returning to after nearly 20 years.” We hope that Chadwick is a little buoyed by our gift but also by the kindness of strangers wanting to help him through this time. Big thanks to new member Hannah for this nomination. Below is her nomination and also a Huffington Post article about Chadwick. Stay Kind you lovely people! X Hi, I want to nominate Chadwick Jackson as a possible candidate for a donation. He moved to the UK from Jamaica as a child and was not able to renew his visa despite living here for nearly 17 years. Because he has not been in the UK for 20 years, new legislation means he is no longer automatically eligible for a visa. He was attending the National Film and Television School when his visa ran out and was prevented from working despite having a National Insurance system and contributing to the British tax system for a decade. Because he couldn't work, he had to drop out of his course and is now living on the charity of his friends, facing a possible conviction and deportation for not being able to afford a train ticket, and unable to raise the money to apply for a new visa. His brother joined the British army to get his passport when placed in the same position and died by suicide in 2018. It would be brilliant if we might consider helping support his living costs and the visa application. https://www.gofundme.com/f/1pd9uif4dc?utm_medium=email&utm_source=product&utm_campaign=p_email%2Bhtml_summary_donations https://m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/man-faces-deportation-to-jamaica_uk_5d249696e4b0583e4827971c