70 adults and children joined in the Welcome event, made up of residents from two hotels, many very new, and lovely to see some resettled families who are still in the area.  

Participants enjoyed an amazing spread of home made cakes made by volunteers, and joined in games including great circus skills from Jester Jim and Hazy Daisy.  

The Mayor, Michal Siewniak, has kindly made HWR one of his charities this year and we were delighted to be joined by Deputy Mayor Cllr Vaishali Shah, along with her consort Cllr Pankit Shah. We were also really pleased that three PCSOs joined in the games with enthusiasm. 
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As volunteer and Trustee Andy said: “Some of the new young women who have just arrived found it so liberating to get out of the Home Office accommodation into the park to feel welcome, play games, and forget their worries for an afternoon.”

Often asylum seekers and refugees we have supported get sent to a completely different part of the UK at very short notice. This can be very distressing for the person being moved, who may have lived in Hertfordshire for several months or even years.

If we know where people are being sent to, we try and signpost them to charities like ours who may be able to help.  Here are some examples:

Emma: “I got put through to a very nice lady who runs the local refugee support group - she lives very near to where M will be and although her car has broken down today, she’s going to rally the troops and get some food to him and make sure he gets a warm welcome.
The people I’ve spoken to have restored my faith in humanity today 🥰 It’s brought a little tear to my eye 🥹”

Linda: “I found the food bank run by a local church in the new area and contacted a friendly person there who said he would be very welcome at their activities.  M went there and said they were welcoming and  helped him with food and he is going there every week."  

Lexi: “I got in touch with Integration Support in Harlow.  The volunteer there  told me about the amazing support given to Y and his family by the charity, including Sim cards, help with administration, access to English classes, job applications, and help for the rest of the family.  This warms my heart.”

Denise: “This is a good news message I've just had back from a family who were at the hotel earlier in the year and now have Leave to Remain. They were moving to Coventry and reached out to me for help, as the property had no furniture. I was able to google various charities in the city and make a referral. So pleased that this worked out for them. It is an example of the power of the internet for good, but also the benefit of signposting and working together with other organisations both near and far.  

We then received this message which made us feel very relieved:
'I am writing this email to say thanks to you for helping me and my family to get furniture and household items by referring us to Carriers of Hope when we moved to Coventry.  They had delivered all the furniture and items, they are in very good condition and we are very happy.'" 

For our volunteers, it can often be upsetting that people we have come to know well are being sent to places where they don’t know anyone who can help them.   The reports above restore our faith that there are other charities out there who will look out for refugees and asylum seekers when they arrive in a new place and we are very grateful to them.

We are proud to be among more than 200 charities who have signed an open letter to the incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to reject the politics of division and forge a new path for asylum seekers and refugees in the UK.

Coordinated by Together with Refugees, the letter states: “As leaders of charities and organisations supporting refugees across the UK, we witness every day the extraordinary compassion shown by ordinary people. While recent scenes of far-right marches, intimidation and attempts to spread fear have dominated headlines, they do not reflect the reality we see in communities across the country.”

Addressed to the Prime Minister, it goes on to say: “For too long, public debate has been shaped by hostile politics, divisive rhetoric and policies that have dehumanised people seeking asylum. Year after year, we have challenged measures rooted in performative cruelty and listened as refugees have been unfairly blamed for wider social and economic challenges. It is time to draw a clear line under this approach.”
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It concludes: “Prime Minister, we ask you to reject the politics of division, and focus on what unites us, to build common ground, and to extend dignity, humanity and hope to those who have already endured so much.”

“Now is the time to champion a narrative that reflects the very best of our country, because we believe we are stronger together.”

Over eighty refugees and asylum seekers braved scorching temperatures to attend our third annual Education and Employment Fair. Visitors received a fantastic goody bag of toiletries and stationery provided by Goods for Good and made connections with a dozen wellbeing, education, training and employment organisations.  It was a buzzy atmosphere from the get-go with guests welcomed by a team of refugee volunteers, hundreds of conversations with stallholders and pre-school children having supervised fun in the playroom. 

Eyosias (not his real name) told us:

"I met different people from various organisations. Someone from West Herts College showed me the different courses and explained different ways of covering the course fees, which I didn't know about before and was worried about.  Overall, I got to know different people and organisations. It was such an amazing and well-organised fair.  Thank you very much for arranging it for us."

And refugee volunteer Altijani said:

"It was a pleasure to help at the education fair, and I'm very grateful to be part of such a supportive team. I truly appreciate the opportunity to contribute and work with everyone at Herts Welcomes Refugees."

Here is feedback from the participating skills and employment organisations: 

"Thank you to your fantastic team and volunteers for a great, well organised event.  I really enjoyed attending and meeting everyone."

"I thought the event was brilliant and a really good chance to bring lots of us together so thank you for having us!"

And our volunteers echoed these views:

Sally: " How amazing that so many local organisations are here to support refugees and asylum seekers. It's inspiring and makes me proud of our town."

Sue: "As school and summer holidays approach, we think it's vital to bring refugees together with support organisations to help them plan for the future as they build their lives here.  So many are desperate to improve their English and get jobs, but it's an uphill struggle.  They left the event with contacts and plans for next steps and more knowledge about the opportunities available to them. We couldn't have made such a success of the fair without our amazing team of Herts Welcomes Refugees volunteers and the support of all the organisations who came along."

Marianne: "We meet so many impressive refugees, some with great aspirations and some highly-qualified and experienced, but unable to have their qualifications recognised in the UK.  We hope our event has helped people navigate their way through the hurdles they face.  It was great for HWR volunteers to have the opportunity to meet people from all the organisations offering support and educational opportunities, so that we can provide better guidance. And, of course, we are always here to help people along the way."

Thank you so much to everyone involved, amazing partnership working.

Yesterday, the Government introduced a new Immigration and Asylum Bill, proposing significant changes to the UK's asylum system. We share the concerns of the The Refugee Council who say:

'This is a Bill that could cause chaos in the Home Office and for the next Prime Minister for years to come. It’s creating a whole new architecture of bureaucracy for the Home Office by building a new appeals system and imposing an unfair extra tax on refugees, while ignoring the poor quality of initial decisions that is actually driving significant delays and costs.'

Read more at https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/press-office/media-centre/refugee-council-responds-to-new-immigration-and-asylum-bill/​

This Refugee Week the theme is Courage.

All week we are bringing you stories of courage, starting with the fantastic event featured above, with huge thanks to all the organisations involved: St Albans Cathedral for hosting, Communities 1st, HAWA Multicultural Services CIC, St Alban and St Stephen Catholic Church, St Albans for Refugees, Amnesty International UK, St Albans City and District Council, the Refugee Council and great singing by @zaraangelinemusic.

We also bring you some amazing stories of courage from our Refugee Voices interviews and Hafsa's story

And last night we were delighted to see Shirin and her fellow graduates from the future Leaders Programme who had created the wonderful Threads of Courage exhibition.

We pay tribute to the courage shown by the sanctuary seekers we have the privilege of knowing, and our volunteers who have the courage to stand up for them. 

All week we would like to pay tribute to our wonderful volunteers.

Read our latest newsletter for more!

And see our special page for Volunteers' Week featuring video clips and messages from volunteers about what they have gained from volunteering with us.  

As volunteer Denise said when receiving the King's Award for Voluntary Service: "Small acts matter - whether it is your time, your skills or simply your kindness."

We were delighted to participate in the Million Acts of Hope week.

See https://www.hertswelcomes.org.uk/a-million-acts-of-hope.html for messages of hope from refugees we work with.

This was picked up in the Herts Ad, Royston Crow, Welwyn Hatfield Times and The Comet 

You can also see interviews with volunteers, including refugees, on our playlist on YouTube.

There is still time to sign the Million Acts of Hope card at https://millionactsofhope.org/  - there are now over 80,000 signatories!  

Together we can stay positive and show that hope is stronger than hate.