Preventing clients from suffering poverty due to lockdown
Harrow Association of Somali Voluntary Organisations (HASVO), established in 2004, is an independent not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting ethnic minority residents and the Somali community. They aim to strengthen the links between all community groups within Harrow.
During the Covid-19 crisis, HASVO supported 772 individual clients during the lockdown, focusing on helping young people and their families and vulnerable adults. Their target group is one of the poorest within Harrow and are within the reported socio-economically marginalised BAME group. These individuals are likely to have chronic conditions which put them at a higher risk of Covid-19 associated mortality.
HASVO began a project providing support and engagement to prevent clients from further sliding into poverty due to lockdown whilst looking out for their well-being. The project aims to help individuals as the country’s economy recovers, where unemployment rates may remain high within the supported group, and weakened welfare safety nets also threaten the health and social insecurity. One of the individuals helped by HASVO is:
“HASVO has contributed to my overall well-being and recovery during a difficult time. I don’t know how I would have been able to cope without their befriending and continuous support.”
