Funding for projects to raise awareness and take-up of the government’s Windrush Scheme and Windrush Compensation Scheme is available to community organisations working with members of the Windrush generation.
The funding is being distributed by Voice4Change England and is available for projects run by community groups that are designed to ensure that all people affected by Windrush are aware of the support available and are not missing out on the compensation schemes or latest information.
The two schemes were set up in the wake of the Home Office’s incorrect classification of thousands of long-term British residents as illegal immigrants. However the scheme to provide financial compensation has so far had a very low number of applicants.
“The fund has been set up in particular to encourage applications from those organisations that are led by affected communities or work mainly with affected communities,” states Voice4Change.
“Affected communities are those that faced difficulties in demonstrating their lawful status in the UK, depending on when they arrived, and those who therefore suffered losses in proving their right to work, finding a place to live, accessing healthcare or some other impact. This covers people who settled in the UK from a Commonwealth country before 1 January 1973, and people of any nationality who were settled before the end of 1988.”
More details of the Windrush Community Fund is available here and an online information session is due to take place on 13 May 2021. The deadline for applying to the fund is 30 June 2021.