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News & stories |
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Thanks to our newsletter editor Anna, we are delighted that our latest newsletter has arrived - see eepurl.com/jEer_6 Here you can read about the fantastic AGM and celebration of the King's Award for Voluntary Service, the Administrative Assistant Vacancy, the courage of refugee 'Amirah' who took part in the Refugee Voices project, our participation in the mass lobby of Parliament and looking forward to some key events in May and June:  We are still hearing about the impact on refugees we support of the government's cruel 'earned settlement' plans which leave those granted refugee status with the prospect of years, even decades of waiting until they have settled status. As you know, we went to Parliament recently to lobby our MPs: www.hertswelcomes.org.uk/news/democracy-in-action-letting-our-mps-know-the-impact-on-refugees-of-the-governments-earned-settlement-proposals Here Simin, who is working, studying and looking after her children talks about the impact of this uncertainty on her mental health and ability to work and support her family: “I wish I could say that I am really settled. It is affecting me, like I’m mentally really busy in my mind.” What’s going to happen?"   We were so pleased to talk to John Borton, our new Deputy Chair, about his role:
You have been involved with Herts Welcomes Refugees, formerly Herts Welcomes Syrian families, for a long time now. How did you hear about us and what have your different roles involved? In June 2016 I was at a conference on the European Refugee Crisis at University College London. Maurice Wren, then head of the Refugee Council, was a keynote speaker and in passing he referred to “the Refugee Council’s Hertfordshire project”. As a Hertfordshire resident, I looked it up and discovered that there was a group of volunteers called Herts Welcomes Syrian Families who were supporting the work of the Refugee Council in the county. So, I arranged to meet two of the founders, Katie Seaton and Catherine Henderson and we met in Katie’s kitchen. I was then invited to join HWSF’s management meetings. These were chaired by Irene Austin and usually held in her dining room in St Albans. My initial role was to establish a group of volunteers in Dacorum to support the first two Syrian families due to arrive in Hemel Hempstead in September 2016. Our first meeting was held in our dining room. I served as Dacorum Area Convener till the middle of 2018 when I moved to the role of Area Convener for Watford and Three Rivers. It was in the autumn of that year that I became a trustee. In early 2020 I took on a very demanding evaluation consultancy role for UNHCR and had to step back from HWR till the end of that (Covid-dominated) year. When I returned, it was as a member of the Dacorum Area Team whilst continuing as a trustee. In August 2021 a hotel just a mile from our home, became one of the three hotels in Hertfordshire to accommodate Afghan evacuee families and, along with Kate Scott and other HWR volunteers, I became very involved in supporting the evacuees. Three months later we learnt that a bed and breakfast guest house had been opened as contingency accommodation for asylum seekers. I then ‘moved over’ to lead on our support there, whilst Kate continued as the lead at the hotel. As trustees we are called to cover many different aspects of the charity’s work. In my case I took on the role of being the Trustee lead within the Safeguarding team and, in 2023, I led the setting up of the Advisory Group. I also often seem to end up leading on IT-related issues. I’m not at all strong on IT matters, but maybe I have slightly more knowledge that others and so have tended to lead on those areas of the charity’s work – MailChimp, email systems and now more recently SharePoint. Can you tell us a little bit about your previous background and your experience and interests? What motivates you to work with refugees and asylum seekers? Catastrophic international events such as the Biafran Civil War (1967-70) and the 1971 Bangladesh Cyclone had a big influence on me at school. In the post-colonial context of the UK at that time, I felt (perhaps in retrospect with some naivety and arrogance) that I should orient my career towards ‘helping in Africa’. I was accepted to study Geography at Oxford – in part my decision to apply was influenced by the opportunity it gave to take a gap year. During that gap year I managed to get work as a Geologist’s field assistant in South-West Africa (now Namibia) which was then, in effect, part of South Africa. Seeing the dreadful Apartheid policies up close was also influential for me. Towards the end of my Geography degree, I realised that that degree alone wasn’t going to be sufficient to get a job in the ‘Development Sector’ in Africa so, with the help of Kate (my then girlfriend, now my wife of 45 years) and a van driving job, I did an MSc in Agricultural Economics. After another period of van driving and some farm work, I managed to then get on to an ODI (Overseas Development Institute) Fellowship Scheme that put me in a Planning Officer position in the Ministry for Local Government and Lands in Botswana. A year later the rains failed and for two years I served as the Planning Officer for the nationwide Drought Relief Programme. That was a formative experience and set me on my career path for the next 40 years working on international disaster relief and humanitarian issues. During my career I have worked principally in research, evaluation and capacity building in the humanitarian sector. I guess ‘learning so as to improve practice’ has been a constant theme. For 11 years I was a Research Fellow at the ODI in London and, whilst I was there had the enormous privilege of: developing a publishing network for humanitarian practitioners (the Humanitarian Practice Network); setting up a research team (the Humanitarian Policy Group) and developing an international learning network for governments, UN agencies, NGOs and the Red Cross (ALNAP). I am proud of the fact that, 30 years later, these three entities are all still very much part of the fabric of the international humanitarian sector. I also had the privilege/challenge of leading a large international team evaluating the international humanitarian response to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Alongside, but also perhaps as part of, my professional role, I have also served as an independent member of the UK Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and as a Trustee of Oxfam. How long have you been a Trustee with Herts Welcomes Refugees? What does your role as a Trustee involve? I became a trustee of Herts Welcomes Syrian Families in September 2018 a year before we changed the name to Herts Welcomes Refugees. My period as a trustee has seen dramatic changes in the context in which the charity operates, the scope of its activities and a dramatic increase in both the number of people it provides support to, and in the number of volunteers giving their time to the charity. Trustees need to take responsibility for, or be the Trustee-lead for, certain areas of the charity’s activity. The three main areas that I have taken on have been as the Trustee responsible for Safeguarding; establishing and supporting the Advisory Group and IT-related matters – the most recent task being helping to roll out the SharePoint sites for data sharing and storage. I know you support the Advisory Group made up of refugees and asylum seekers. What are the benefits and challenges of having this group? The Advisory Group is a panel of refugees and asylum seekers who meet regularly with the Trustees to ensure that the voice of ‘users’ of HWR services are included in decisions about the planning and delivery of support and the development of the charity. The Advisory Group’s meetings allow discussion with trustees on a range of issues – our priorities for the year ahead, how changes in government policy are affecting them, the charity’s support for employability, and reflecting on its media and advocacy messaging. We understand that funders are impressed by the very fact that we have a functioning Advisory Group contributing to the planning of the support we provide and to the direction of the charity’s development. Probably the main challenge is having to continually refresh the membership so that asylum seekers are adequately represented and able to contribute their perspective to the discussions. The status of asylum seekers is temporary as many gain Leave to Remain. Also, at any point asylum seekers may be relocated to hotels or dispersed accommodation outside Hertfordshire. You are taking up the role of Deputy Chair of the charity. How do you see this role? I see my role very much as supporting Kate Scott in her role as Chair. The role of the chair is potentially huge (how Irene managed to juggle so many balls at the same time I will never understand!), so part of my role will be to ‘cover/lead on’ certain areas of the charity’s activities and confer regularly with Kate. Though we had very different professional careers, our views on the charity’s needs and how it should develop, are very similar. This is a challenging time for refugees and asylum seekers. How do you think Herts Welcomes Refugees can make a difference? I see HWR making a difference in at least three different levels: At the interpersonal level we constantly hear appreciative feedback from those we have helped and those we continue to support. We should never underestimate the positive effect a friendly, sympathetic and supportive volunteer can have on someone who is feeling at their wits end after having had to flee their homes and endure, often horrendous, journeys. At a group level we can (and do) help to reduce or ameliorate some of cruder, insensitive and sometimes inhumane ways in which the asylum system affects those seeking safety and sanctuary here. Finally, at a time of increasing hostility towards asylum seekers and refugees by politicians and sections of the population, we can (and do) demonstrate the British values of respect and tolerance on a daily basis. Through our continued media and advocacy work we can amplify these positive messages, and we can give greater voice to those we support, helping them to be seen as people with individual humanity, stories, and agency, rather than being defined solely by their legal status or being viewed as a "burden". What would you say to anyone thinking of becoming involved with Herts Welcomes Refugees? Do it! As well as being able to help those seeking safety and sanctuary in our country, being an HWR volunteer will be immensely rewarding for you. Being able to see your country and culture through the eyes of others will increase your appreciation of the UK’s positive qualities and strengths as well as the negative aspects of some of the current policies, attitudes and underfunding.  Today we are delighted to speak to Kate Scott who has taken over from Irene Austin as Chair of Herts Welcomes Refugees.
How did you first get involved with Herts Welcomes Refugees? Was there a particular motivating factor? I got involved with HWR when I retired in 2018 after working as a solicitor in large City firms for all my career. Looking back over the previous 30+ years I was reflecting on what I had done that was really worthwhile. Thinking back, one of the things that came pretty high on the worthwhile list was the time I spent volunteering at an adult literacy project in London when I first graduated. I have always been interested in refugee related issues – part of my family came here in the mid 19th century from eastern Europe and my father in law came here as a teenage evacuee from Gibraltar. I grew up in a multi cultural area of London, went to school with people from lots of different communities and have close friends who came here as immigrants. Growing up that part of London in the 60s and 70s, I also saw the ugly side of racism. I was friends with a volunteer who's since moved away and she told me about the charity and said, why don't you come along and try it? HWR seemed a good fit with my background and interests, so I did. And that's how I got involved. What did you first do? Because there wasn't really much provision at the local college at the time, John Borton and others started up English classes for the Syrian families who had arrived under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme. Sometimes we were in an office in the council, which was quite nice. But other times we were down in a room in the basement of the theatre in Hemel Old Town, which was all painted black. I think it was a nightclub but that really set the tone of what HWR was about – we get on with providing support in often less than ideal circumstances! I helped as a classroom assistant, which I enjoyed and I was also a befriender to one of the Syrian families. At that time John was trying to cover Dacorum and Watford and was finding that difficult because it was so busy. He was looking for someone to take over Dacorum and I said that I would. So I became Area Convenor for Dacorum. Back then, the management group met round Irene’s dining table and we were supporting mostly Syrian families who arrived a few at a time. What happened next? Looking back, that seems a very peaceful time in a way, because we just had the Syrian families in Dacorum who were supported by a team from Dacorum Borough Council. DBC, unlike other councils, used their own staff rather than contracting out support to the Refugee Council. Then things started to take off in a different direction when first Afghan evacuees arrived in August 2021 and were moved to a hotel just down the road from where I live, shortly followed by the arrival of asylum seekers in Hemel Hempstead. The first place was a guest house which was cramped and had no communal space and then a block of flats was opened up, again with no communal space, as asylum accommodation. These places were opened without consultation with the council, and in the case of the block of flats, we told the council that over 200 asylum seekers had been moved in overnight! That situation was new at the time but has turned out to be typical of the way the Home Office and their contractors operate although a lot of effort has been put in by the County Council and the district and borough authorities since to improve engagement. Previously we'd been dealing with the district and borough authorities, particularly in Dacorum because they didn't use the Refugee Council for the resettlement project. The arrival of the Afghan evacuees and asylum seekers gave us an insight and a way of developing relationships with the County Council and various other organisations who were coming in to support the new arrivals. The Dacorum team of volunteers grew and diversified its support to meet the needs of the new arrivals, as did teams across the county. It was a very steep learning curve! Not only did it bring us into contact with the new arrivals who were from a broad range of countries but it also brought us into different supporting organisations and the County Council, giving us the opportunity to build new relationships and partnerships. In Dacorum, we have been fortunate in working with two churches who have hosted our drop ins – as there was no communal space in the asylum accommodation so we had to look outside to provide support. As it turns out, that model has allowed us to support people living in the community and we want to develop it elsewhere. I became a trustee in 2019 which gave me an insight into the charity as a whole. How will your role change once you are Chair? I will be much less hands on in terms of my involvement in Dacorum. We've got a really, really capable, innovative team in Dacorum, and Jane Collis and Alison Wilkinson are taking over from me as joint Area Convenors. My aim is to focus on the charity as a whole and support our Director as she settles into her role. How has the charity changed? We have developed the support we provide and there is far greater diversity in the people we support. We also support far greater numbers and have a much larger group of volunteers. We work with a greater range of supporting organisations. We need more funding to support the work we do. But the ethos of the charity remains the same – to welcome, support and advocate for refugees and asylum seekers. HWR is now a more complex organisation and the Trustees recognise that we need to build the infrastructure of the charity so that we can carry on supporting people as their needs develop. So that was the rationale behind applying for the National Lottery funding to build a bigger staff team and provide stability of funding over a three year period. The team is still very small – a full time Director, part time Volunteer Co-ordinator, part time IT support and we are in the process of recruiting a part time Administrator. Our new Director, Katie Allen East, has made a great start and I am enjoying working with her. The King's Award for Voluntary Service is important as a marker of how much the charity has changed and it’s particularly significant that it has been awarded at a time when there is so much anti-migrant feeling. An important factor in helping us to support the change the charity has already made and continues to make to ensure its sustainability is the work we have been doing with the help of the Lloyd's Operational Development Programme over the last year. We've had consultancy support to the Trustees in thinking about our objectives and strategic direction; they're providing a huge amount of support on the IT side and the implementation of Microsoft 365; they provided consultancy support for recruiting for the Director role and help in our move to becoming direct employers. Lloyds are very responsive: they've got various charities who are supporting refugees and asylum seekers and they've set up a forum for training and discussion. So we've had some really good training out of that, which I've attended along with Trustees Julian and John. We have just started another strand of support, which is to look at our risk assessment process and procedures. Our Treasurer, Adrian, Katie, our Director and I are involved in this. So there's a lot going on that people probably don't see. The recent volunteer survey showed that people were interested in finding out more about strategy so it is good to let our volunteers know about this. We are delighted that you will be stepping up to take over from Irene Austin as Chair for the next three years. What will be your focus going forward? Continuing the great work of HWR and looking at making us more efficient and effective in the way we do that so that it is easier for us to do that. I am particularly keen that we focus on what we are best at doing and can do, and look ahead as far as possible to make the support we provide as resilient as possible. So we will be looking to develop and build relationships with other organisations that can support in ways that we cannot, or that are paid to provide support and using our direct knowledge of refugee and asylum seekers needs to “encourage” them to deliver services appropriately. We have talked for a long time about developing more community hubs, with partners, so that the support we provide in hotels is available to the wider refugee and asylum seeker community, and this is a development we are focusing on over the next year. Advocacy is another area that we will be focusing on, particularly how to involve the people we support directly because they are best placed to tell the truth of the reasons why they are here. Providing meaningful opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers to volunteer with HWR and helping them to find volunteering opportunities in the community is another focus. People really want to contribute and, as we all know, volunteering is great for improving wellbeing. It is also a good preparation for work. Our volunteers are our greatest strength – we want to retain them and offer them opportunities to take on different roles and expand their knowledge. We also want to support our volunteers because we know that the support they provide often brings challenges to their wellbeing. So progress on our Volunteer Development Programme is a priority. How can Herts Welcomes Refugees make a difference in these difficult times? I think we should carry on doing what we're doing – which includes adapting our support to meet emerging needs as we have always done, showing that we care, giving opportunities to people who want to volunteer with us, helping people navigate the asylum process and life in the UK. So creating a channel for the more positive things. I think our social media is important to get our message across and advocate for the people we support. It also attracts people who are looking to volunteer and organisations who are interested in working with us. I’ve already mentioned greater emphasis on advocacy and the Volunteer Development Programme and our plans for more community hubs as practical ways to make a difference. What would you say to anyone think of becoming involved with refugees? Just do it! Tell us what you can offer us and we'll try to find something that is a good fit for you. We were so honoured to be presented with the King's Award for Voluntary Service by our Patron, His Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire at our AGM last night. At the AGM we thanked our outgoing Chair Irene Austin for her amazing contribution to setting up the charity ten years ago and welcomed our new Chair Kate Scott, Deputy Chair John Borton and Director Katie Allen-East. This was also an opportunity to meet and chat to over 150 volunteers, supporters along with partner members, and we were delighted that so many refugees and asylum seekers could join us over delicious food and a marketplace of stalls showcasing the different aspects of our work. Here you can see a short clip of the award presentation, along with Cadet Warrant Officer Lucy Waller and Denise Beardshaw who gave a moving speech on behalf of HWR volunteers.
Would you like to work for Herts Welcomes Refugees? We are recruiting for an Administrative Assistant who will play a key role supporting the team, ensuring the smooth-running of meetings, internal processes and data management. Please see the job description and person specification Send your completed application form and CV to: [email protected] by midnight on 17 May 2026.  Today we hear from Angie that it is the last playgroup session at the hotel:
“Today we celebrated Easter by making chocolate nests and decorated boxes to put them in. We shared a book about eggs then danced to the Birdy Song and See the bunnies sleeping. A beautiful way to end our session.” Angie also sent some lovely photographs showing gifts of Easter eggs: “Sharing some Easter joy. Many thanks to our links with Churches Together who have helped create a caring community alongside HWR volunteers to show our asylum seekers that they are important and that they matter.” She goes on to say “I am so grateful to all the people involved in setting up the playgroup with special thanks to the local Churches Together for initially helping purchase equipment alongside grants from Migrant Help. The local community have been awe inspiring in showing up to provide carpet off cuts, nearly new toys, books, play mats and other necessary items for the ongoing provision. I am also indebted to the many volunteers who have helped set up and run the playgroup over the past 2 years offering much needed well being to the children and their parents within the setting. Thanks to the many HWR volunteers who offered advice and encouragement along the way as well as supporters who offered donations through our social media links.” You can see our interview with Angie from last year when she set up the playgroup: https://www.hertswelcomes.org.uk/volunteer-stories/its-the-sheer-joy-of-watching-the-children We would like to thank Denise, Angie and Bernie and the fantastic team who have been involved at the hotel. The love and joy they have brought to the residents must have made such a difference to them in the face of some hostility, and we wish them all well.  We are pleased that the local Hertfordshire press has picked up our meetings with Hertfordshire MPs at the mass lobby last week: See coverage in The Comet and the St Albans Times You can sign this letter to the Home Secretary at https://act.praxis.org.uk/open-letter-earned-settlement to share your concerns. Democracy in action – today three of our volunteers and three members of our Advisory Group took part in the mass lobby of Parliament to let our MPs know how the ‘earned settlement’ proposals will affect refugees in Hertfordshire.
We urged the MPs to write to the Home Secretary, asking her to publish an impact assessment and allow for full parliamentary scrutiny. The refugees spoke movingly about how these cruel plans to make them wait decades for settled status will impact their ability to feel safe and integrated. The scrapping of student visas from Afghanistan, for example, will force more people into making dangerous journeys which will extend the period even further. Thank you to the volunteers, Advisory Board members, our MPs and the organisers. See our message to the Home Secretary at www.hertswelcomes.org.uk/news/our-message-to-the-home-secretary We are dismayed that on top of the cruel ‘earned settlement’ plans to delay citizenship by decades, yesterday the government announced that refugees arriving from March 2026 will have their status reviewed every 30 months, rather than being granted five years of protection. The Refugee Council estimates that over the first 10 years, this change could mean up to 1.1 million repeat reviews - at a potential cost of up to £725 million. More importantly, it would mean families who have already survived war and persecution facing uncertainty for 20 years before they can apply for settlement. Long waits for settlement will create insecurity and instability, making it harder for refugees to establish themselves, get secure, well-paid employment and/or progress in work or study. This increases the risk of poverty and destitution, especially when coupled with the need to pay repeat visa fees. If the Government wants refugees to integrate and contribute, they should make settlement processes timely, simple and affordable. We are sharing the views of two refugees on our Advisory Board: Young Sudanese woman with a masters in bioengineering: “There's no sense of security.… What if one day the government decides to send me back? Did I take this entire journey for nothing? Will I ever be safe? This is one of the saddest things that I've seen.” University lecturer from Afghanistan: “Personally, it has affected me a lot because I came here with nothing and with lots of hopes. But when I heard about these proposals it shattered me. It’s a kind of limbo situation we are in. I wish now that I had decided to apply for a student visa in another country and not in the UK.” We urge Shabana Mahmood to reconsider these draconian views which are against the spirit of the Refugee Convention and our international obligations to help those seeking sanctuary here. On 11th March, we’re heading to Parliament to join migrant and refugee groups, unions, and faith communities to demand justice at the Mass Lobby for Migrant Rights. We’ll be meeting MPs face-to-face and urging them to oppose the Government’s harmful earned settlement plans.  |
