Asylum Welcome

To support the National Day of Solidarity to End Immigration Detention 18 Oct, Coalition to Keep Campsfield Closed are running an event with a panel discussion & more. #Oxford #MigrationIsLife #NoOneIsIllegal #TheseWallsMustFall @asylumwelcome.bsky.social righttoremain.org.uk/local-action...

Asylum Welcome is running the Oxford Half Marathon in memory of James Throup This October, Asylum Welcome is putting forward our own team to run the Oxford Half Marathon. Our team is as diverse as our organisation – comprising a Sanctuary Hosting guest, a service coordinator...

Best of luck to everyone taking part in the #OxfordHalf today — especially #TeamAsylumWelcome 🎽 — running in memory of our much-missed volunteer James Throup.

Every penny raised helps refugees and asylum seekers rebuild their lives in Oxfordshire. 🏃‍♀️🧡🏃‍♂️

Donate here 👇
tinyurl.com/oxford-half-marathon

One week to go until the Oxford Half Marathon! 🏃 🧡

Our Asylum Welcome runners are over halfway to their target — every mile they run helps fund help, advice and hope for people starting again in safety.

Please support them if you can:
justgiving.com/campaign/asy...

Thank you!

he Sanctuary Hosting panel at Asylum Welcome’s AGM. Six panellists sit at the front of the room, including Tania Baldwin-Pask speaking into a microphone on the far right. An Asylum Welcome banner is displayed on the left, while the audience listens attentively.

Display panels from the Sanctuary Hosting exhibition, unveiled at Asylum Welcome’s AGM. The boards include information about the service since 2015, testimonies from hosts and guests under the heading “Voices of Sanctuary,” and a section on challenges and hopes for the next 10 years.

Hari, Joint CEO of Asylum Welcome, stands on the left speaking into a microphone and gesturing with her hand. Sarah, Joint CEO, stands on the right smiling and holding notes. Both are addressing the AGM audience, with heads of attendees visible in the foreground.

At Asylum Welcome’s AGM, compere Ghani stands on the left holding a microphone for Michael, a former client, who is reading from his notes. An Asylum Welcome banner and a projected presentation slide are visible behind them, while the audience watches from the foreground.

Last week, our AGM & Supporters’ Meeting brought together voices from across Asylum Welcome — and marked 10 years of Sanctuary Hosting.

More than 40,000 nights of shelter, 300 guests supported, and a new exhibition unveiled to celebrate this milestone.

Read more: www.asylum-welcome.org/agm-2025/

👪 We're live at the Old Schoolhouse Community Day (Hertford Street, off Magdalen Road).

👋 Drop by our stall to say hello, pick up a copy of our latest Annual Review, and see if you can beat our fiendishly metaphorical Hostile Environment Challenge...

'Don’t think your boys, far away as they are, ever forget' A story of migration

To mark ten years of Sanctuary Hosting, I wrote about migration. With thanks to @asylumwelcome.bsky.social for the fact checker.
open.substack.com/pub/writingf...

The logo for Sanctuary Hosting at Asylum Welcome. It shows a tree growing from a blue doorway shape. Inside the doorway is a white key design that forms the shape of a heart. The text reads “Sanctuary Hosting” in blue and pink, with “at Asylum Welcome” underneath in smaller light blue letters.

Three women sit at a table with food and drinks, talking during a community event with bunting in the background.

An older woman and a younger woman wearing a headscarf sit together at a kitchen table, with books and papers spread out in front of them.

Four women smiling at a Sanctuary Hosting event, with musicians performing in the background.

This Sept, we're celebrating 10 years of Sanctuary Hosting!
www.asylum-welcome.org/services/san...

300 guests helped, 40,000 nights of safe sleep & countless acts of kindness - thanks to our wonderful hosts 💙

🎧 Listen to the story on our podcast #Welcomecast:
creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...

🏃‍♂️ Every step counts. Every gift helps.

Sultan and the @asylumwelcome.bsky.social team are running 13.1 miles at the #OxfordHalf to support refugees in Oxfordshire as they rebuild their lives.

If you can, please back them today with a donation:
tinyurl.com/oxford-half-marathon

Thank you. 🧡

More than 2,000 sign open letter for 'compassion' after Nigel Farage visit More than 2,000 people signed a letter calling for 'unity and compassion' in Oxfordshire after an increase of hostility towards migrants and asylum…

Thank you #ThisisOxfordshire for highlighting our open letter calling for Compassion and Unity in Oxford - www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/2542642...

Mandatory digital IDs considered to crack down on illegal immigration Sir Keir Starmer has accelerated a range of views of technology that could prove whether job applicants are in the country legally

'...my concerns with these are the safety of separated children if they can't make applications to join family members'.

@catbriddick.bsky.social was quoted in @thetimes.com on the UK government's decision this week to halt the family reunion route for refugees:

www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

As Yvette Cooper pushes forward new laws to make it harder for child refugees to get safe passage to join their parents in the UK, here's a picture of her from 2020 campaigning for the complete opposite.

"We sat in stunned silence… wondering: what will this mean for the people we support now & those who will need us in future?" — Dr Hari Reed, our Co-CEO.

For many refugees, reunion is the only hope they have left. Suspending that right puts women & children at risk, @yvettecooper-mp.bsky.social.

Oxfordshire is a County of Sanctuary and we are rightly proud to support and stand up for refugees, people seeking asylum and anyone in the UK in need of support. Amazing work by @asylumwelcome.bsky.social to put together this letter!

A call for Unity and Compassion in Oxfordshire (and beyond)

Today, Nigel Farage used Oxfordshire to launch plans for “mass deportations” of people seeking asylum if he becomes Prime Minister.

We believe in a different vision: one rooted in dignity, safety, and welcome. Please add your name to our open letter: tinyurl.com/aw-letter

🧡 Asylum Welcome's Oxford Half Marathon team is running in memory of our brilliant volunteer, James Throup.

Here, Tania — our Sanctuary Hosting Manager — shares a tribute to James, remembered for his kindness, gentleness & commitment to others.

Support in his honour: justgiving.com/campaign/asy...

Handwritten message in black ink on white paper reading, "Please believe that people do care."

Hand-drawn message on white paper with colourful crayoned bubble letters outlined in black, reading "You are welcome here," placed on a yellow background.

Heart-shaped sign with an orange border and white centre, hanging on a brick wall. The handwritten green text reads, "We love our community and everyone who is part of it xxx" with small heart doodles.

A chalk heart drawn on a tarmac pavement next to a parked bicycle, with a red brick wall and a bright blue door in the background.

A year ago, you chose welcome - and showed up for Oxford’s asylum seekers. 🧡

Today, the challenges are greater than ever.

Read our latest newsletter to learn the facts, and stand with us again.

www.asylum-welcome.org/one-year-on/

🎓 Last month, five of our clients completed a Core Maths course at Oxford Lifelong Learning — the third in a series designed especially for displaced learners.

Huge thanks to Dr Ben Grant, Dr Tom Crawford and Behrad Ahmadpour at the University of Oxford.

lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk/news/this-cl...

After years of fear and separation, Muhammad’s family is safe and reunited.

📖 Read their story: asylum-welcome.org/a-family-reu...

This is what welcome looks like - and what community can do. 🧡

Thank you for standing with refugees in Oxfordshire.

Tell your MP: Stand against the Refugee Citizenship Ban This Government has effectively banned refugees from ever becoming citizens. But we won’t stand for it!

🚨 There’s a debate in Parliament tomorrow about the refugee citizenship ban.
The UK is making it harder for refugees to become citizens—just because of how they arrived.
✍️ Write to your MP now (with thanks to our friends @freedomfromtorture.bsky.social):
secure.freedomfromtorture.org/page/173733/...

Refugee Week may be over — but the need remains.

Every day in Oxfordshire, people seek safety, food, shelter and family.

At Asylum Welcome, we offer essential support and expert advice when it’s needed most.

Please donate if you can:
app.donorfy.com/donate/9C307...

Thank you.

Today!
Sunday 22nd June 2025
12 noon: Rally at the Campsfield site (Langford Lane, Kidlington OX5 1RE)

1 mile walk to Kidlington Methodist Church; refreshments and discussions in the Rear Hall.

Let’s walk together to say: Keep Campsfield Closed.
Immigration detention is an abuse of human rights.

Illustration with the words "Community as a Superpower – Can you join us?" surrounded by comic-style yellow starbursts. Below are five smiling cartoon-style people of different ages, genders, and ethnic backgrounds, representing a diverse and welcoming community.

This #WorldRefugeeDay, we’re celebrating the strength it takes to start again – and the power of community to make it possible.

Your support helps refugees & asylum seekers in Oxfordshire find safety, dignity and a new beginning.

Please support our appeal today: tinyurl.com/RWBluesky25

Thank you.

Drop by our stall at the Sanctuary Fair and say hello! 💙

We’re here all afternoon at Oxford Town Hall sharing information about our work with refugees and asylum seekers in Oxfordshire.

#RefugeeWeek #CommunityAsSuperpower

#OxfordRefugeeWeek

Stand with us this #RefugeeWeek

Your donation today can help.

With your support, we can offer essentials like food, safe housing, and expert advice when it’s urgently needed.

Please give what you can to stand in solidarity with sanctuary seekers in our community.

👉 tinyurl.com/refugeeweeka...

Our theme this year for Refugee Week is 'Community as a Superpower'.

As bell hooks says “We can begin the process of making community wherever we are. We can begin by sharing a smile, a warm greeting, a bit of conversation; by doing a kind deed or by acknowledging kindness offered to us.”

By including Asylum Welcome in your Will, you can ensure that refugees and asylum seekers have the chance to live in dignity.

If Asylum Welcome has been part of your story—or the values you hold dear—please consider leaving a legacy of welcome

👉 www.asylum-welcome.org/legacy

Just 1 week to go until the Oxford Sanctuary Fair 2025!

*Book your free place (or just drop in):*
tinyurl.com/sanctuaryfair2025

*Part of Refugee Week*
Organised by Asylum Welcome, University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes, IWAW, Oxford City Council & more.

Sanctuary Wheels - giving free bikes for refugees & asylum seekers Since 2022 we have provided 600+ free bikes to refugees & asylum seekers across Oxfordshire. Bikes offer refugees the freedom to get to know their new homes, access vital services, medical appointment...

🚲 Happy #WorldBicycleDay from Sanctuary Wheels! 🧡

Since 2022, this project has provided hundreds of free refurbished bicycles to refugees and asylum seekers across Oxfordshire.

Each donated bike gets a second life — and offers someone the freedom they need to rebuild.
tinyurl.com/sanctuary-wh...

💥 Coming soon - #refugeeweek2025: Community as a Superpower

🗓 16–22 June

*🧡 Planning an event?
We’d love to include it in the Oxford Refugee Week brochure.
Submit by 12 noon on Friday 6th June:
👉https://tinyurl.com/RW2025programme

📧 emma@asylum-welcome.org
🌐 oxfordrefugeeweek.info

If your organisation can help promote this model, influence decision-makers, or support its future, please share it.
👉 Read the full evaluation report: tinyurl.com/nrpf-project...
👉 Read the executive summary: tinyurl.com/nrpf-summary