Providing short term accommodation for destitute female asylum seekers
Who are we?
St Monica’s Housing Ltd was incorporated in 2010 to provide short term accommodation for destitute female asylum seekers and registered as a Charity with the Charity Commission of England and Wales in March 2017.
We are based in Leeds and are supported by the board of trustees, volunteers and supporters including various local Catholic organisations, e.g. St Vincent De Paul Society (SVP); Leeds Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission; and Catholic Care
Residents are from different ethnic groups and faiths and non-faith backgrounds; and all are given support by PAFRAS/Red Cross in their asylum claims whilst they live in one of the houses. The accommodation provides a haven from the harsh realities of life as an asylum seeker. The charity offers accommodation to each resident for a period determined by the trustees. To date this has been up to six months, on average, but we have had to extend this period for residents during the Covid pandemic. We put provision in place so that in the event of a resident needing to isolate, they would be self-contained within their room - with a microwave, electric cool box, first aid kit, cleaning equipment and kettle.
The Origin of the name “St Monica’s” for the charity.
The meetings of the Founding Members of St Monica’s Housing Ltd were held at St Monica’s House, Hinsley Hall, Leeds and this address became the Registered Office of the Company, hence the origins of the name of the Company.
The Icon of St Monica which we adopted as our logo
Wishing to have an emblem which explained our mission, we searched the Internet and found an Icon of St Monica and the wording on the Scroll summed up the plight of the Asylum Seekers we wanted to help.
We obtained the permission of the Photographer in the USA, who held the Copyright to the Photograph of the Icon, to reproduce the image on our Letterheads, Reports and Literature.
A few months later, we received an e-mail from the Iconographer who painted the Icon, a Lori Mauldin, (now Sr. Hannah of the Holy Assumption Russian Orthodox Monastery in Calistoga, Nappa Valley, California), who had seen a copy of our Annual Report on the Leeds Diocesan Justice & Peace Commission’s Website.
Wishing to give her Prayers and Support to the work of St Monica’s Housing, she very generously donated the Icon to St Monica’s Housing Ltd. The Icon is on loan to the Diocese of Leeds.
Who was St Monica?
Saint Monica (c. 332 – 387) was an early African Christian Saint, born in Thagaste , Algeria . She is believed to have been a Berber on the basis of her name.
She was married early in life to Patricius, a Roman pagan, who held an official position in Thagaste. Despite her husband’s opposition to their children being baptised into the Christian Faith, Monica remained faithful to her beliefs and is remembered and honoured in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, for her alms giving, good deeds and prayerfulness.
Her son, Augustine, consistently refused to become a Christian. However, his mother prayed unceasingly for his conversion to Christianity, and he was baptised by St Jerome, and was eventually ordained a priest. He became a theologian and philosopher, and a Doctor of the Church, He was appointed bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa, and is known as St Augustine of Hippo.