It is Refugee Week.

And while celebrations are now taking place around the country in a nod to the positive contribution of refugees to the UK, many stereotypes still surround them and those still trying to get leave to remain, asylum seekers.

Charitable organisation Destitute Asylum Seekers Huddersfield (DASH) have helped us compile a list of myth-busting facts about those who come to our country to escape violence, persecution and even death.

1. There are too many people seeking asylum when they don’t really need it

Please check the Home Office website for details of how many people claimed asylum last year, how many were given it, how many had to go to appeal to get it and how many were refused. You will probably be very surprised. DASH works with people at all stages – pre-claim, during their claim, on and after acceptance and after refusal – and 99% of the people we see have a genuine need for protection.

It is true that some of those people are unable to prove that need with evidence, and some will not be eligible for asylum, such as women who have suffered domestic difficulties in their home countries. Others may have lost paperwork along the sometimes dangerous paths they take to flee their home countries.

2. The UK hosts more than their fair share of refugees

In fact, the UK is home to less than one per cent of the world’s refugees, according to the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) in 2015.

About 86% of the world’s refugees are living in developing countries, often in camps. Turkey is the biggest refugee hosting country in the world. It is currently giving sanctuary to 2.5 million Syrian refugees, while Jordan and Lebanon host 1.7 million between them. By the end of 2015 the UK had resettled 1000 Syrian refugees.

3. It is too easy to claim asylum in the UK

Forty one per cent of people who applied for asylum were granted it at initial decision in the UK. Compare this to Switzerland and Finland, where over 70% of applications succeed.

Those who are refused are allowed the chance to appeal but this time is not always sufficient to gather the extra evidence needed to support their claim or to find appropriate legal support.

Many rely on charitable organisations to help them understand the complex process and put in fresh claims with new evidence before pressured to leave the country.

Most of those who are granted asylum are given leave to remain for only five years, making it difficult for them to make decisions about their future, including finding work and making definite plans for their life in the UK while it remains unsafe for them to return to the country they escaped from.

Read more: Destitute asylum and refugee support charity DASH now helping 50 people a week

4. Asylum seekers are lazy and don’t want to work

Asylum seekers are not allowed to work. DASH campaigns to change this. When people are given leave to remain and are permitted to work they are often only able to find part time temporary work in the beginning and are prepared to get up early and walk long distances to get there. Instead of working, asylum seekers make a substantial contribution to community life by volunteering and by supporting others in their community in a way not many British people do.

5. There are too many asylum seekers in Huddersfield

There are around 350 asylum seekers in Huddersfield and that wouldn’t be a great crowd of supporters if they were the only ones turning up for a Huddersfield Town match.

6. Asylum seekers get lots of benefits and perks.

The benefit rate for all asylum seekers is £36.95 per week, although it is true they have accommodation and utilities provided.

Child asylum benefit was recently cut by £15 per week per child and DASH is offering fresh fruit and vegetables to those families on a weekly basis at the moment.

It is often mistakenly thought that asylum seekers are provided with phones or cars, but this is not the case.

It is true that not all asylum seekers come to the UK with nothing and some have substantial bank accounts, but they will not be eligible for accommodation and benefits.

7. They don’t need much money as it will only be for a short while

It is true some claims are processed and people given refugee status within six months, but many claims take much longer. Some DASH families have been on these pitiful benefit levels for as long as five years and we have one elderly lady who has been on it for 11 years.

Generally speaking, people experience real hardship and struggle to give their children a decent life, particularly if they don’t receive their support in cash so that they can’t, for example, get on a bus to go anywhere.