My name is David Cousins. I am the Youth and Community Manager at St Mary Redcliffe, and I have led our Youth and Community Team since 2018. I am writing this for one of our most valued community members.

Salha has been a wonderful volunteer and leader within the Redcliffe community and in Bristol more widely. Her seventeen-year-old son, Mohammed, volunteered earlier this year to help us run the Redcliffe Festival, and her children come to our youth group. She is also a businesswoman. She built a business here in Bristol, Redcliffe and is a role model for other women. She has fed this city for years, helped other women to be empowered in their own rights, and raised five children while looking after a sick husband.

The family have given their time to this church, helped at our community events, and looked after other people's families. They have never asked for anything back. That is how I know them. Not as a case. As some of the people who turn up to help others.

What has happened since July:

On 4 July this year, a few weeks after he had helped his mother run our festival, Salha's seventeen-year-old son was seriously attacked by a group of five young men.

He sustained serious injuries and life changing operation that required major surgery lasting five and a half hours.

Since the attack, the family have reported further incidents of threats, harassment and intimidation, including a further assault involving her son and online threats and intimidation directed towards her fourteen-year-old daughter. The impact has been so serious that there are concerns about her being able to return safely to school.

For this family, the fear is not confined to what happened to their son on 4 July. They have been feeling unsafe in their own home, in their neighbourhood and in relation to their children's education, safety and future. These concerns have been raised with the police and the other agencies.

What the police have said:

On 4 September, Chief Constable Sarah Crew QPM wrote to Salha personally.

She acknowledged the “ongoing concerns” about the family's safety and confirmed that the investigation into Salha’s son assault remains an active priority. She also confirmed that safeguarding activity is taking place alongside the criminal investigation, with a multi-agency approach involving partner agencies.

She also recognised the wider impact of what the family has experienced, including “violence, intimidation and repeated targeting of young people”.

The Chief Constable also wrote:

“Feeling safe in your home, your community, and while accessing education is fundamental.”

What the family have been told:

On 9 September, Bristol City Council wrote to Salha confirming that professionals involved with the family's case, including the police, had identified risks to the family's safety and recommended that they move outside the Bristol area.

The Council also told her that a transfer to accommodation outside Bristol “cannot be arranged through your current homelessness application”.

Salha was given two options:

1. “Remain on your current homelessness application with Bristol City Council”.

2. “Consider withdrawing your application and approaching another local authority due to the safety concerns.”. She was asked to decide “as soon as possible”.

We want to give Salha and her children an immediate route to somewhere safe, while the longer-term housing situation is worked out.

Professionals involved with the family's case, including the police, have identified risks to the family's safety and have recommended that they move outside the Bristol area. But the family cannot simply wait for everything to be resolved.

Six weeks after Salha’s son came out of surgery, the family were moved into a house and told it would be for two or three days.

They left most of what they owned behind. They are still there.

The house cannot be properly secured. There is mould in several rooms, and Salha has asthma. The main toilet has not worked since 1 September. The stairs are broken, and so is the bannister for a four-year-old child.

This appeal is about finding somewhere safe for this family.

A word about this city:

Bristol is a City of Sanctuary and has been since 2011, a status this city asked for, celebrated, and has been reaccredited to hold. This is also the city of the 1963 bus boycott. Bristol has always done the right thing, and practically when somebody kindly asks it to, so now I am asking kindly:

I do not believe Bristol wants a mother of five living in a house she cannot properly secure, frightened for the safety of her children and herself.

Your donation will help provide:

• A safe home set-up, deposit, rent and moving costs, so the family can get somewhere secure without waiting any longer.

• The basics of living: beds and bedding for seven, furniture, a cooker, a fridge and a washing machine. The family were told they could not bring their own belongings into the current accommodation.

• Getting the children to school: including transport if the family has to move away from the area.

• Independent advice, legal and practical support to help the family as needed.

• Immediate essentials: the costs that come with moving a family of seven at very short notice.

The aim is simple: to give this family the safety and stability they need while the longer-term situation is resolved.

How the money is handled:

This fundraiser is organised by me, David Cousins, as an individual. Funds go directly to Salha as the named beneficiary. Neither St Mary Redcliffe nor I hold, control, or take any part of the money.

Please help:

Now he is recovering from major surgery, his family have experienced repeated threats and intimidation, and the whole family is living in temporary accommodation, having been told it's an unsafe city that cannot provide the security they need.

They need somewhere safe.

If you can donate, please do.

If you cannot give, please share this appeal. You may know someone who can help: a landlord, an organisation, a business, or simply another person who believes that a family should be able to feel safe in their own home and city.

Thank you very much for looking after one of our own.

David Cousins

Youth and Community Manager

St Mary Redcliffe