Cancer care for Albert Thompson
Donation protected
24th April, 11pm - SUCCESS: Albert has now been granted free NHS treatment!!! Thank you to all who donated and I am very pleased we don't have to pay for something which he was always entitled to for free anyway. I am in discussion with all relevant parties about what the best use of funds is, and I will confirm this with everyone as soon as possible. It will take some coordination, and liaising with lawyers to work out how Albert is able to access the fund, so please be patient. I will keep the fundraiser open for now as some people are still keen to donate even though they know it won't go towards treatment specifically.
From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!
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Albert Thompson*, 63 years old, has lived in London for 44 years. He has prostate cancer. After major surgery, he arrived for his first radiotherapy session to be taken aside and told that unless he can prove he is legally entitled to live in the UK he will have to pay the full £54,000 for his treatment upfront.
For 3 decades, Albert has paid taxes to the British Government. He arrived from Jamaica as a teenager. He has no money and he needs our help.
Cancer doesn't wait.
**Please like, RT and share the campaign with your friends!** #ActionforAlbert #Windrush
There are lots of tweets to RT on my profile: https://twitter.com/quiline
I am asking every visitor to this fundraiser to contribute towards the £54,000 for Albert's treatment, and I would like us to raise this by Friday 13th April.
We shouldn't have to, but the Government has not responded despite weeks of pressure and this is now very urgent.
Three weeks ago I launched a petition to the Home Office for Albert which has so far raised over 280,000 signatures. Albert's case and this petition has had repeated media coverage. The issue was also bought up at PMQs, where Theresa May said she wasn't aware of it but that she would personally intervene; she later said that she wouldn't intervene and that this is a decision for Royal Marsden. However, Royal Marsden's hands are tied, because their decision is actually related to the Home Office needing to recognise Albert as a UK citizen.
If you haven't already, sign the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/home-office-give-albert-thompson-the-lifesaving-cancer-treatment-he-needs
We've given the government time to respond, and it has failed to adequately do so, despite the victim of their indecision suffering from a life-threatening and progressive disease. We shouldn't have to do this, but we must.
Having been a primary carer for loved ones who have had cancer, I know that it is expensive, frightening and depressing. People who do not have a lot of savings or support from elsewhere struggle massively financially, and Albert has been unable to work for some years now due to cancer so has nothing. Even with appropriate support, cancer is a lonely and terrifying journey. I can't imagine the despair that this man must be feeling right now.
This is part of a much wider issue, of people who originally came from Commonwealth countries now not being recognised as legal citizens - despite living in our country for many, many years and contributing in the same way we do. Let's stand up for their rights - and stand up to the increasingly harsh landscape that the Home Office is creating for innocent people that are relying on their country's support at the hardest times in their lives.
The minimum target for this fundraiser is £54k to pay for Albert's treatment, but if we raise more than this I will donate the extra money to Praxis, the charity that have been supporting Albert, who deal with hundreds of cases like this.
If Albert is granted treatment for free, then I will talk to Albert's case worker about how best to use the money. It may be that we can help him with living expenses to help him through the next while, and that the rest goes to Praxis who support many others like Albert. I will work closely with Praxis to agree this.
To those that donated to Praxis previously, here is a statement from them about how it has been used: http://www.praxis.org.uk/news-page-6.html (scroll down a little) and you will recieve an email update with more details shortly.
Read my article on the Huffington Post for more detail: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/albert-thompson_uk_5acb39eee4b09d0a1195847f/?__twitter_impression=true
*This name has been chosen to protect this man's identity
From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Albert Thompson*, 63 years old, has lived in London for 44 years. He has prostate cancer. After major surgery, he arrived for his first radiotherapy session to be taken aside and told that unless he can prove he is legally entitled to live in the UK he will have to pay the full £54,000 for his treatment upfront.
For 3 decades, Albert has paid taxes to the British Government. He arrived from Jamaica as a teenager. He has no money and he needs our help.
Cancer doesn't wait.
**Please like, RT and share the campaign with your friends!** #ActionforAlbert #Windrush
There are lots of tweets to RT on my profile: https://twitter.com/quiline
I am asking every visitor to this fundraiser to contribute towards the £54,000 for Albert's treatment, and I would like us to raise this by Friday 13th April.
We shouldn't have to, but the Government has not responded despite weeks of pressure and this is now very urgent.
Three weeks ago I launched a petition to the Home Office for Albert which has so far raised over 280,000 signatures. Albert's case and this petition has had repeated media coverage. The issue was also bought up at PMQs, where Theresa May said she wasn't aware of it but that she would personally intervene; she later said that she wouldn't intervene and that this is a decision for Royal Marsden. However, Royal Marsden's hands are tied, because their decision is actually related to the Home Office needing to recognise Albert as a UK citizen.
If you haven't already, sign the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/home-office-give-albert-thompson-the-lifesaving-cancer-treatment-he-needs
We've given the government time to respond, and it has failed to adequately do so, despite the victim of their indecision suffering from a life-threatening and progressive disease. We shouldn't have to do this, but we must.
Having been a primary carer for loved ones who have had cancer, I know that it is expensive, frightening and depressing. People who do not have a lot of savings or support from elsewhere struggle massively financially, and Albert has been unable to work for some years now due to cancer so has nothing. Even with appropriate support, cancer is a lonely and terrifying journey. I can't imagine the despair that this man must be feeling right now.
This is part of a much wider issue, of people who originally came from Commonwealth countries now not being recognised as legal citizens - despite living in our country for many, many years and contributing in the same way we do. Let's stand up for their rights - and stand up to the increasingly harsh landscape that the Home Office is creating for innocent people that are relying on their country's support at the hardest times in their lives.
The minimum target for this fundraiser is £54k to pay for Albert's treatment, but if we raise more than this I will donate the extra money to Praxis, the charity that have been supporting Albert, who deal with hundreds of cases like this.
If Albert is granted treatment for free, then I will talk to Albert's case worker about how best to use the money. It may be that we can help him with living expenses to help him through the next while, and that the rest goes to Praxis who support many others like Albert. I will work closely with Praxis to agree this.
To those that donated to Praxis previously, here is a statement from them about how it has been used: http://www.praxis.org.uk/news-page-6.html (scroll down a little) and you will recieve an email update with more details shortly.
Read my article on the Huffington Post for more detail: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/albert-thompson_uk_5acb39eee4b09d0a1195847f/?__twitter_impression=true
*This name has been chosen to protect this man's identity
Organizer and beneficiary
Jacqueline Culleton
Organizer
Selwyn Marshall
Beneficiary
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