Charities supporting Windrush scandal victims offered £500,000 funding

Charities are being offered grants of up to £25,000 to support people impacted by the Windrush scandal.

The £500,000 Windrush Community Fund is being offered by Voice4ChangeEngland to charities, community organisations and grassroots groups looking to raise awareness of the government’s Windrush Scheme and Windrush Compensation Scheme.

Grants of between £2,500 and £25,000 are on offer and the closing date for applications is 12 February. A second phase of applications is set to launch on 1 April and close on 30 June.

The Windrush scandal concerns immigrants to the UK being wrongly detained and deported after decades of living in the country. This included those who moved to the UK from Caribbean countries known as the Windrush Generation, named after the Empire Windrush ship that brought immigrants to the UK in 1948.

The Windrush Scheme was launched in 2018 to help members of the Windrush generation of immigrants to the UK who have been unable to prove their right to live and work in the UK. The scheme helps them to get prove their lawful status.

Meanwhile, the Windrush Compensation Scheme was launched a year later to ensure that those impacted by the scandal are properly compensated for their losses. The minimum award was raised from £250 to £10,000 last year. The maximum award was also raised last year from £10,000 to £100,000.