'I don't have money. I have to live off what the Home Office gives me, which is topped up with £35 each week. That means £5 a day for everything. It is very hard using this card – you cannot use it in most shops, and you are not allowed to use it for a bus ticket, for instance, or for a telephone call' Photograph: Herlinde
‘This is the food under the sink in my bedroom. Maybe one day I will get my own home and be able to make Congolese food. Not now, not here. I don’t have a choice in what I eat. I go to a charity; they give me food for cooking like rice, oil and sugar. Any food I get, I eat’ Photograph: Esther
'Sometimes we stay and talk to our friends in the street. We cannot have them in our house for tea or food like English people. Where will they sit? There is no room! Home for me is my friends. We talk about life, worries and family' Photograph: N Yeman
'I have no place to live and no money. I have nothing except what people give me out of charity. I walk the streets in the day. Today the weather is nice so it's OK, but some days the weather is so bad and I have nowhere to go. On days like those it is easy to feel hopeless and lost' Photograph: Evelyne
'I waited years to get my papers. During that time I was often sleeping outside and moving from place to place – sometimes staying in hostels, but other times I was homeless and slept in churches, on buses. Always moving. Today I live in a hostel and this is the view from my window. It doesn't look like home to me. I know it is temporary, that soon I will have to move again' Photograph: Esther
'I do not unpack because I don't know when I'll have to leave. My friend lets me stay here, but it is not forever' Photograph: Madeleine
'I come to African shops in Dalston where they sell Congolese food, which reminds me of home. This is kwanga, which is good to eat on the go and when you have nowhere to cook. I like to come to these shops' Photograph: Evelyne
'In my country, everyone buys little red fish to celebrate the new year in March. They are good luck and protect homes. This year I bought the little blue rocks and the glass from the market for £1. I bought the fish and made a good celebration for the new year for my son and me. The manager who visits the house saw the fish and liked them. She told me I need a bigger space for them. I said, "I have no space for me! How can I have more space for fish?"' Photograph: FY
'I live in shared accommodation assigned to me by the government agency. The light has been broken for a long time. Someone was meant to come and change it but they haven't been yet. Since the first day I came here in October last year my bed is broken. The manager said he would bring another but he didn't. I have asked him until I am tired. I understand now that he will never fix it' Photograph: Herlinde
'It is so expensive to heat the flat and my friend cannot afford it. I use a hot-water bottle to try to keep myself warm but it is not enough. The flat is in bad condition but I have no power to make any changes' Photograph: Madeleine
'I go to church every Sunday. I pray at St Monica's in Hoxton. The people there are very welcoming. They give out tea and food and sometimes they give out clothes. It gives me a place to sit and hope' Photograph: Evelyne
Evelyne sought asylum in the UK in 2005. Her application was refused and she has been destitute for four years, without any benefits, any right to work or any place to sleep.
Esther came to this country seeking asylum in 2003. She now has leave to remain in the UK, but four months after she received her papers she still has not received any benefits and continues to live in a hostel for the homeless.
Madeleine came to Britain from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2004, fleeing persecution because of her ethnic background. She has been refused asylum and is living destitute, with no right to benefits or to work and nowhere to live Photograph: Hannah Maule-ffinch/Aliya Mirza/Hannah Maule-ffinch
N Yeman came to this country from Eritrea in 2003, seeking asylum. She lives in a shared house and receives £30 a week in benefits.
Herlinde came to this country from the Congo in 2005, fleeing persecution for her political activities. She has lived destitute for some time, but is currently housed in shared accommodation provided by the National Asylum Support Service and lives on an Azure card, which is topped up with £35 every week and can only be spent on food and toiletries in specified shops Photograph: Hannah Maule-ffinch/Aliya Mirza
