A public appeal for £60,000 is being made for refugees facing crisis in Brent who are being overwhelmed by poverty, hunger and homelessness.

One in five charities could disappear this winter if current cost-of-living conditions don’t improve, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations has warned. 

Asylum contingency hotels around Wembley and north-west London are among those up and down the country that are closing as part of the Government’s plan to end their use to house migrants.

Many of those put up there will be forced to leave, with nowhere to go during the winter months.

The Crowdfunder appeal for donations is being launched by the Salusbury World organisation based in Queen’s Park, a charity itself “at risk of closure" in 2024 while helping refugees and immigrant children resettle into society.

“This is a critical time for many charities,” Salusbury World’s director Sarah Reynolds said. “Our situation is no different — demand is soaring, but right now all our services are overloaded.”

Salusbury World has been “a lifeline for the most vulnerable” in the immigrant community over the last 25 years.

The £60,000 it is aiming at would pay for resources to help refugees in crisis through another extreme winter. It would be used for personalised support for those put up in accommodation in Brent.

But the charity’s Chair of Trustees Gill Self warns: “Without support we are at risk of closure in 2024, so we’re calling on the community to make a difference, to help the most vulnerable to rebuild their lives.”

The charity wants to expand its team of advisors to help refugee families into permanent accommodation, get welfare and protect their immigration rights. This would support them adjusting to loss while adapting to life in a new country.

It is also hoping to expand its women’s project and children’s holiday club to get refugee families out of isolation and given them hope for the future.   

But Salusbury World is among charities up and down the country said to be facing a “cost-of-giving” crisis where supporters and wellwishers are struggling themselves to keep pace with rent and food prices before they even think of making donations.