Did you know that 65% of all refugees stay in neighbouring countries? And that in Hertfordshire only 0.06% of the population receives asylum support?

We have put together this infographic and will be sharing more facts and figures over the coming weeks.
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Read more, with links to the source material on our new Facts & Figures page.

At Herts Welcomes Refugees we do not recognise the picture painted by the Rt Hon Lewis Cocking, MP for Broxbourne, that proposals to become a Council of Sanctuary would mean “rolling out the red carpet and sharing a how-to guide to help [asylum seekers] exploit our system.” [Refugee sanctuary plan is 'grandstanding', says MP]

As a charity working with and on behalf of asylum seekers and refugees across the county, we can state categorically that people are not given preferential treatment to access our public services. Indeed, the opposite is true. The majority of people who arrive here are traumatised and endure hardship whilst waiting for a decision on their status. They must not be blamed for a system which is far from perfect but is not one of their making.

Council of Sanctuary recognition is not about opening the doors to more people. It is about making a commitment to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for people who are already here. It is about fostering community cohesion, not destroying it. It is also about enabling our local authority to network with and learn from other organisations and councils taking similar steps. 

We agree with the leader of Herts County Council, Cllr Steve Jarvis, when he says that he can see no reason why Hertfordshire would not want to be a welcoming and inclusive place for people seeking sanctuary.

Local authorities have no power to change national immigration policy, nor to unilaterally make decisions on where asylum seekers are housed, so becoming a Council of Sanctuary will have no effect on decisions by the Home Office and their contractors on the number of people arriving being placed in asylum accommodation in the county.

From our experience, the people of Hertfordshire care about those who have arrived here, many of them with nothing but the clothes they are wearing. Herts Welcomes Refugees is proud of the fact that 200 Hertfordshire residents volunteer for our charity (which incidentally recently received the King’s Award for Voluntary Service).

Despite protests outside at least one of the hotels in the county housing asylum seekers and increasingly negative media coverage, the charity has, over the last year, seen a significant increase in the number of people wanting to volunteer for our charity. People choose to volunteer with us because they want to do something positive to counteract hostility being stirred up by irresponsible and factually incorrect statements such as those expressed by Mr Cocking.

We are constantly impressed by the resilience, warmth and friendliness of the people we support. Most just want to live in safety, learn English, educate their children, integrate into their local community, work to contribute to society and pay their way.   

We are proud to work closely with many other agencies across the county, and to live in such an inclusive and welcoming place – and believe that most Hertfordshire residents feel the same.  

"Most people want to live in communities that work, where people work together and support each other."

Listen to our spokesperson Mary talking to Andy Collins on BBC 3CR about our work in the County.

The interview was in response to a petition for the Council to hold a referendum about becoming a County of Sanctuary.  

You can hear the full interview and short clips at ​https://www.youtube.com/@HertsWelcomesRefugees

Did you catch our Communications Coordinator Helen on the Heart Radio news bulletins yesterday?
We were asked to comment on the news of talks between the UK and France about policing small boat crossings.  Hear the clips below....

We're always looking for people to join us in welcoming refugees and asylum seekers to Hertfordshire.

We are developing new activities across the county and would love more volunteers to get involved who can make a regular commitment of a couple of hours a week, particularly on Tuesdays!

Roles and activities range from helping at English conversation groups to coordinating drop-ins, and much more! 

See our Volunteer with us page for how and where you can help. 

If you can spare a little time each week please email us at [email protected]

All this and more in our latest newsletter at http://eepurl.com/CEq9MtDxH0

To receive our newsletters just add your name to the Subscribe to our mailing list box using the Contact Us link at the bottom of this page.

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.