About Hope for Justice#
Hope for Justice was founded in the UK in 2008 and now works in the UK, the USA, Ethiopia and Uganda, with its global head office here. It also owns Slave-Free Alliance, a social enterprise that helps businesses find slavery in their supply chains. In the UK its main work for survivors is independent advocacy, which it has offered for more than fifteen years, alongside policy, research and training for professionals.
What an independent advocate does#
Since September 2025 Hope for Justice has led a national pilot of Independent Modern Slavery Advocates, or IMSAs, across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. By September 2026, 15 organisations employed 31 of them, and 234 adult survivors had been supported; Unseen, the Medaille Trust and the Snowdrop Project are among the charities taking part. Every IMSA takes a postgraduate certificate at St Mary's University, Twickenham.
An IMSA works on three outcomes above all: securing status, meaning the survivor understands their rights and options to stay in the UK or return home safely; long-term stable housing; and access to legal advice and representation. Hope for Justice's own advocates also help with Universal Credit claims, GP registration, compensation claims, English classes and interpreters. The charity is clear that an IMSA works beside a local caseworker or police Victim Navigator rather than replacing one. A Child Trafficking Transition Specialist supports young people moving from children's to adult services.
The Advocacy Advice Service#
The way in is the Advocacy Advice Service, open to survivors themselves and to professionals anywhere in the UK, with its email address on the Get help page. It sorts each enquiry into one of three levels: advice and signposting, for example on housing, compensation or asking for a negative decision to be reconsidered; a short intervention on one or two issues where no local help exists; or a dedicated IMSA, which is not limited by time or by where you live. The pilot is for adults. The site has a Quick Exit link on every page, and in an emergency you should contact the police.
When the records do not match the person#
Hope for Justice publishes nothing on changing names. One of its cases shows why records matter: a survivor with EU Settled Status could not prove his right to work because of a Home Office online error, and was at risk of losing both his job and his home until the charity and the AIRE Centre got a Home Office adviser to correct it. Its advocates also describe young survivors facing complex legal paperwork, including documents about deportation.
A name change adds another place for records to drift apart. To change the name in a UKVI account, GOV.UK asks for an identity document showing that it has changed, which is why a deed poll by itself leaves an eVisa as it was. If you have an advocate, ask them to check the order with your immigration adviser before you change anything. Changing your name on your eVisa and UKVI account explains the Home Office's rules, and the DWP page covers telling Universal Credit.
This page describes what Hope for Justice publishes on its own website, read on 26 October 2026. Hope for Justice has not reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
