Sanctuary Kirklees

13/06/2026

Can you help to welcome a family to your local area?

Refugee Council are looking for individuals who are willing to join a group to support an Afghan family to resettle into their new community in the UK. You may already be a group of friends, faith group, maybe a book club, or you may be an individual wishing to join an existing group.

Groups will consist of at least six adults, and the role will be to welcome and support an Afghan family to resettle in your local community. The group will help the family to do all things associated with moving to a new area, for example, helping to find school places for the children, registering with a GP, learning how to find local shops and activities.

This can be a very rewarding volunteering experience, as you have first-hand contact with the family and share their journey towards belonging to their new community. You have a unique opportunity to learn about one another's cultures as well as strengthening your own local connections as you meet other kind-hearted, like minded individuals.

There is no financial contribution or fundraising involved - the project is funded by the UK government to resettle families brought by them to the UK by safe and legal routes.

If this appeals to you, please find out more by clicking on this link: https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/work-with-us/communities-for-afghans-community-sponsorship/ or by joining our information session on Wednesday 17th Jun at 5.30pm

Please email us for a link to join the session [email protected]

13/06/2026

Racist violence on our streets doesn't appear from nowhere.
When our leaders refuse to stand up for sanctuary and migration, when they let social media companies profit from division, they put people in danger.
Our communities must come together in solidarity - and demand better from our leaders.

12/06/2026

There are lots of things coming up in Refugee Week and this is just one of them. Come and have a boogie at the Museum of Liverpool 3pm on Friday 19th June. The theme of this years Refugee Week is Courage - you need it these days!



https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatson/museum-of-liverpool/event/refugee-week-performance-asylum-link-merseyside-and-choir-no-name

12/06/2026

📣 DON’T LET THE FAR RIGHT DIVIDE US
✊ REFUGEES ARE NOT TO BLAME
🪧 LEEDS STAND UP TO RACISM COUNTER DEMO
🗓️ Sunday 14 June
⏰ 11am
📍Dortmund Square, Leeds, LS2 8RE

12/06/2026

In solidarity.
Please read

https://refugeeweek.org/showing-solidarity-staying-safe/

Courage belongs to us all.

As Refugee Week begins, we are mindful that this year’s festival takes place at a time when some communities are experiencing rising hostility, division and uncertainty. In recent weeks, we have seen incidents of racism, violence and attempts to disrupt events that celebrate welcome, inclusion and belonging.

It is precisely in moments like these that Refugee Week matters most.

For 28 years, Refugee Week has brought people together through art, culture, food, film, music, sport and conversation. It creates opportunities to meet neighbours, hear new stories, experience different cultures and discover what connects us. Each year, millions of people take part in tens of thousands of events and activities, helping to build stronger communities across the country and internationally.

Refugee Week is a celebration of the enormous contributions that people seeking sanctuary have made - and continue to make - to every part of our society. It is also a chance to deepen understanding of why people are forced to flee, and to recognise the importance of the right for displaced people to seek safety, dignity and opportunity.

This year's theme, Courage, feels especially resonant.

For refugees courage is often a daily necessity. It is the courage to face unknown journeys, learn new languages, navigate unfamiliar systems, or simply to wake up each morning and step into an uncertain world.

But courage belongs to all of us. Courage to welcome, to stand for what we believe in, and to celebrate culture and community.

At a time when some seek to divide and blame, Refugee Week offers an opportunity to broaden our horizons and discover the richness that emerges when people from different backgrounds share creativity and connection. This year also marks 75 years since the Refugee Convention - a landmark agreement affirming that those forced to flee deserve protection, dignity, and hope.

As Refugee Week 2026 begins (15 June), we invite everyone to celebrate the courage that lives within us all - join us and take part!

If you are hosting or participating in an event this year, read our 'Showing Solidarity and Staying Safe' resource, which offers an overview of Refugee Week alongside practical guidance for organisers.

It explores why the festival matters in today’s context, how it helps build connection and counter hostility, and shares simple, proportionate tips for planning safe, welcoming events - from risk awareness and safeguarding to managing online spaces and protecting personal information: https://refugeeweek.org/showing-solidarity-staying-safe/

07/06/2026

With Shared Goods Charity-Clothing Project – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉

01/06/2026

Great to see what’s on offer at Shared Goods in their new place!

27/05/2026

Our friends over at Shared Goods have exciting news!
Wishing you all the best in your new home!

19/05/2026

This is what welcome looks like at Leicester City of Sanctuary. Fantastic!

It’s amazing to be part of the City of Sanctuary movement. If you’re interested in joining us get in touch.

I've been volunteering since 2009 - 17 years!

Every week, over a hundred people come through the Leicester City of Sanctuary hub - sharing a meal, getting information and finding connection. I register new arrivals, signpost people to support and help induct new volunteers - we have over 50 volunteers at the moment, which is amazing. We get a lot done. And it really matters.

What I love most is talking to people outside the bubble and showing them a different story.

One memory that stays with me is when we started taking asylum-seeking families out to Leicestershire villages - picnics on village greens, visits to local farms where the kids could cuddle baby animals. It was really simple, but transformative. Villagers who'd never met a single asylum seeker in their lives were sitting on a blanket, sharing sandwiches and chatting away. Afterwards, people told us it had changed the way they saw things. Just because they'd met each other.

We've welcomed people from 85 different nationalities through our doors. It's changed my perspective on things. My own problems look very different. The resilience people show - navigating a system that is deliberately made hostile - is extraordinary. And when that resilience is rewarded, those stories are everything.

I recently wrote a supporting letter for a young man who was trafficked into the UK as a child, he escaped, and eventually became an ambassador for our organisation at 18. He then went on to study Law at the University of Leicester, got married, and now has three children - one of whom he adopted. He arrived in 2015 with nothing. Leicester is full of people like him. That's what this city is made of.

I came to Leicester as a student at De Montfort University, then built my life here, and when I retired I knew I wanted to carry on working with people. I am very fond of this city.

What gives me hope? The people who have been silenced, gaining the confidence to speak out. The villager who came for a picnic and left with a new outlook. The hundreds and hundreds of people in my community who've stepped up to offer something positive. People are tired of the lies. They want a truer story. We're here to tell it.

☀☀☀☀☀
This is what gives Mick hope. What about you?

Mick volunteers with Leicester City of Sanctuary - they work to build a culture of welcome, inclusion, and support for everyone in the city.

08/03/2026

Our friends over at Shared Goods, sharing the love.

Today is International Women’s Day. Thank you to all of the women in our lives making the world a better place.