Everyone deserves the chance to rebuild their lives.
“I feel
seen today,
I
came in here and travelled a long way and I was very upset, but you spoke to me and took your time to help me and made me feel seen.
Thank you.”
Providing clients with
Providing opportunities to build and develop social networks, both in our café and garden, and with the wider community
Welcome to Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum’s new style Annual Impact Report for the period April 2023 to March 2024.
The period covered by this report has been a time of great challenge to the refugees and asylum seekers we work with. A feature was the hostility and division nurtured by the government with the Rwanda policy and the use of barges and barracks to accommodate asylum seekers. However, as I write this we are in the first month of a new government and one of our new Prime Minister’s first statements was to pledge to scrap the Rwanda scheme completely. Hopefully we are heralding a time which focuses more on compassion, social justice and welcome to those fleeing war and oppression in their home countries.
I am very proud of our staff and volunteers, including our trustees, who are unwavering in their passion, commitment and dedication to our work. It is our supporters and partners who help make us who we are, and all deserve huge credit for the achievements of the last 12 months. Thank you so much for your support.
Jennie Fleming, Chair of the Board of Trustees
At Nottingham Refugee Forum
we believe everyone deserves a chance to feel safe and live with dignity.
That is why we are there for people arriving in our region from day one, ensuring that they get the support they need to rebuild their lives.
In these pages we are proud to showcase our work over the past year, based around the 3 key themes that run through everything we do: Advice, Support, and Community and Partnerships.
I hope you enjoy reading the stories and seeing the impact of our work. It has been a year of both challenge and achievement, and I am grateful to our dedicated team of 52 staff and 190 volunteers who have worked tirelessly to make all this happen. I also extend my thanks to our generous supporters and donors, without whom we couldn’t carry out this vital work.
Looking ahead, we have set our ourselves ambitious targets over the next 3 years. These include increasing the genuine participation from those with lived experience, at all levels of the organisation, working towards becoming a trauma informed service and increasing revenue from our commercial interpreting service, Voices and Refuge.
Thank you for showing an interest in the work of Nottingham Refugee Forum.
Frank Forman, Director
Advice
Providing practical advice, signposting and advocacy
2,484 clients supported
6,500 separate cases
35 average number of drop-in advice sessions every day
34 families settled following a family reunion
31 families resettled in the area through the resettlement scheme (a total of 255 individuals)
27 asylum support applications through our Anti-Destitution Project
31 asylum seekers given advice through our Fresh Claims project
Case Breakdown
50 young people supported with issues such as mental health, legal matters, homelessness, social interaction, physical issues and stringent age assessments
16 LGBTQ+ clients supported through signposting appointments
322 clients given advice with housing issues
171 cases referred for medical appointments
179 asylum seekers seen through our outreach work in Initial Accommodation sites
334 new refugees given advice through our New Refugee Clinic
General advice
Safeguarding
Initial accommodation
Specialist advice
Young people
Resettlement scheme
Employability
New refugee clinic
Other
“Your unwavering dedication and commitment to assisting us during these challenging times has made a significant impact. We are fortunate to have someone like you in our corner, providing guidance and support when we needed it the most.”
Miriam’s Story
Miriam came to join her husband in the UK, and after a few months she became pregnant.
At that time she and her husband were homeless, and before the Council could help with accommodation they wanted proof of pregnancy. Her appointment with the Council’s housing team was that afternoon, and she didn’t know what to do. Her GP had put her on a waiting list to be seen by a midwife, and was told she would have to wait weeks for an appointment.
Miriam and her husband came to our dropin advice service, and were immediately referred to our “Into the Mainstream” project, which helps clients access the health services they need. Our caseworker has good relationships with midwife teams across the City, and gave them a call, explained the situation and asked for help. The midwife team were able to send us a letter for Miriam that same day, that proved she had an appointment with them. She was able to take that letter to the Council appointment later in the day as proof that she was in the system, so they could now prioritise her housing. She came to the Forum that morning sad and anxious, but left positive and full of energy.
Ahmed’s Story
Ahmed, an undocumented Bidoon, an Arab minority from Kuwait, came to our General Advice service following a rejected asylum claim several months before, and without any official documentation.
The Anti-Destitution Project promptly completed a Subject Access Request with the Home Office, and ensured that Ahmed had access to essential resources such as the foodbank, and a fourweekly cash payment available through the project. Additionally, the Coordinator secured a legal advice session for him with the legal adviser at the Fresh Claims Project, a joint partnership scheme between Nottingham Refugee Forum and Nottingham Arimathea Trust (NAT).
NAT’s legal advisor believed there was a strong case for appealing the Home Office’s refusal, and assisted him in submitting an out-of-time appeal, along with a fee waiver application. At the same time our Anti-Destitution Project Coordinator assisted Ahmed in finding secure accommodation while awaiting his appeal.
The courts accepted the reasons for the late appeal, and the solicitor determined that the case had more than a 55% chance of success, allowing them to take it on with Legal Aid. We supported the client in attending his appointments at the solicitor’s office as he prepared for his appeal. He was very vulnerable, illiterate in his home language, and struggled without intensive support. We accompanied him to the appeal, and last month, we were thrilled to learn that his appeal was successful. This case exemplifies the positive outcomes that can occur when resources are available, and the right organisations and individuals have the capacity to provide support.
Support
Providing clients with the tools, the space and the support they need to help them rebuild their lives
23 Afghan refugees, who arrived through the ARAP scheme, completed the UK, Life, Skills, and Employability course to learn about Life in the UK
15 Afghan women completed the DVLA Theory Course
30+ individuals completed skilled courses such as Health & Beauty, Construction and Building, and SIA training
145 clients supported with careers advice
140 people took part in activities ranging from laughter workshops, well in mind sessions, and yoga
97 wellbeing checks carried out for LGBTQ+ clients
4 Sensory Summer Garden Sessions
139 women and children enjoyed a variety of activities through our Women’s Group, Pamoja. They went to the theatre, took a trip to the seaside and visited the Houses of Parliament in London
250 presents delivered to families across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire with our Christmas Gift drive
8 LGBTQ+ social group meetings, including a collage arts session, a dance class, a crafts session and a nature walk. We also attended the 2023 Nottingham Pride parade as a group
Language Support
90% of our service users require an interpreter
7691 hours of interpreting provided
131 people attended our interpreting training course
1000 hours of ESOL provided in-house, to 182 students
Anti-Destitution Project
1,286 visits by clients to our Friday group, for cash, food, and casework support
“As a volunteer I do not think I have ever witnessed compassion being offered at such a practical and caring level, and it has truly moved me.”
James’ Story
James came to us seeking advice and community. He fled his home country due to persecution based on his sexuality.
He was accommodated in an asylum hotel and had to share accommodation with homophobic people, who went on to attack him both physically and verbally. The situation got so bad that James would sleep outside the hotel, on the street, out of fear for his safety.
Our LGBTQ+ project was in regular contact with James throughout and provided wellbeing checks on a regular basis. We helped him to apply to Micro Rainbow, an LGBTQ+ only asylum support accommodation provider, and helped him to report the incidents that had happened to him as hate crime. We advocated for him with Migrant Help, Serco, Nottinghamshire Police and Nottingham City Counci. James attended our social support groups throughout which were a safe haven for him to be himself and get away from the abuse he suffered in his accommodation. After a lot of advocacy, James was eventually moved into a Micro Rainbow safe house, where he could live with other LGBTQ+ people.
After his accommodation issue was solved, he got in touch to express his thanks.
“I was the one who ran away from my country because of the fear of the government and its petrifying laws. After coming to the Refugee Forum, I was able to find my true personality as a person from the LGBT community and get peace of mind....
They gave me life back in Nottingham, they lit a flame for me when I was at my darkest.”
Community and Partnerships
Proving opportunities to build and develop social networks, both in our cafe and garden, and with the wider community.
As the social hub of Nottingham Refugee Forum, Café Narjis is a welcoming and inclusive space for everyone. Last year was a huge success and we continue to develop the environment for all who use our space and serve free hot meals everyday, for everyone.
13,356 meals served in our Cafe Narjis, with an average of 1,113 meals per month supported by 60 volunteers
190 volunteers played a crucial role in the running of all services. 31% had lived experience.
Our community garden continues to flourish, hosting events and activities for clients, volunteers and staff. Thanks to our garden volunteers it has also provided food and flowers for our community cafe.
300 people attended our Refugee Week BBQ Party, enjoying food and music prepared by our cafe and volunteers.
95 Afghan refugees enjoyed a day of cricket at Trent Bridge, thanks to Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. Notts County Foundation invited a group of 17 to a match at Meadow Lane.
Our Women’s Group Pamoja put on a number of joint initiatives and activities, run in partnership with the University of Nottingham, Nottingham Contemporary, the Brazilian Cultural Centre, St Ann’s Allotment, LUSH, and the Galleries of Justice.
Our Youth Club meets every Thursday, and this year the young people enjoyed trips to Goose Fair, bowling, the cinema and a t-shirt printing workshop.
Our client participation group expanded our school outreach programme, visiting 10 local schools to talk about refugees and the challenges they face.
Our Communities of Identity consortium supported 15 organisations across Nottingham who work with asylum seekers and refugees. Through network meetings and communication the groups shared information, ideas and best practice to better understand and support our service users.
We worked with a total of 132 partners and other organisations, both locally and nationally.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude for your patience, guidance, and friendliness during every volunteering shift. The experience and the people I’ve had the pleasure of working with at this organisation have been wonderful. I sincerely hope that our paths may cross again in the future, and I can be a part of your wonderful team once again.”
