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...

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...

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. 🧡

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

'...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!

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...

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.

🚨 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.

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.

🚲 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 📧 [email protected] 🌐 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

📣 We're looking for two new trustees to help guide the future of Asylum Welcome: 💼 Treasurer 🌍 Trustee with lived experience Help stand up for refugee rights here in Oxfordshire. #NeighboursNotStrangers Read more on our website: 🔗 www.asylum-welcome.org/trustee-recr... Apply by Friday 30th May.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make our recent Eid and Easter celebration at Sandford Village Hall such a joyful success! 🙏 If you’re interested in getting involved or hosting an event for Refugee Week, reach out to us at [email protected] 📩

Our brilliant volunteer Jonny Fox is running the Oxford Town & Gown 10k on 11th May in aid of Asylum Welcome and Oxford Phoenix FC. 🐦‍🔥 Help keep it running by supporting Jonny’s run! 🙏 👉 Donate here: www.justgiving.com/page/jonny-f...

The Asylum Welcome family said a huge thank you and a fond farewell to our outgoing Director, Mark. Mark's has guided AW through times of change and growth. Thanks to Mark we're stronger and better prepared for whatever the future holds. We'd also like to welcome our new Joint CEOs, Hari and Sarah!

🌟 We're hiring! 🌟 Asylum Welcome is seeking a part-time Trust and Foundations Fundraiser to support refugees and asylum seekers in Oxfordshire. 🧡 ⏳ Closes Monday 5th May at midnight 💡 Have someone in mind? Please help by spreading the word! For more details: www.asylum-welcome.org/trust-fundra...

Please donate and help more people like Hira rebuild their lives! "Art gives us the ability to meet people halfway." Please give what you can today to ensure we can continue this vital work. www.asylum-welcome.org/spring-appea...

In a difficult economic landscape and with the government trying hard to reduce its spending, Asylum Welcome is struggling to raise funds to support those stuck in the asylum system. Click the link below to donate and to read more about Mohamed! www.asylum-welcome.org/spring-appea...

✨If you are LGBTQI+, in the UK and have experience of asylum or detention, or applying for a partner/spouse visa, we want to hear from you! There are many ways to get involved. 💻Please email us at [email protected] if you're interested, and share this with anyone you know who might be.

Barges, disused army barracks, hotels—none of these are fit for people to live in, and only add to the trauma of those already suffering. Wethersfield, like other temporary sites, must close. It's time for real solutions: community-based housing, support, and dignity for those seeking sanctuary.

Home Office held 19,000 people in immigration detention centres in year to March 2024, many of whom had experienced torture, oppression, & trauma, & are extremely vulnerable. Britain is the only country in Europe to have no upper limit on time a person can be detained @asylumwelcome.bsky.social

Above: a story about how tougher immigration controls create opportunities for exploitation. Below: a story about how the government says it will reduce exploitation through tougher immigration controls.

Your reminder that the right or otherwise of children in the UK to live with their non-British parents has exactly the square root of sod all to do with people arriving by small boat, so apart from anything else this really is not very honest politics (link to source in next post)

That isn't something to be proud of

The UK, and others, need to stop focusing on preventing people from seeking asylum and step up to ensure that they have safer and simpler means to do so. They must not stand by and watch people be sent back to Afghanistan. It is tantamount to a death sentence. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

✨ Today is both Eid al-Fitr and #MothersDay. For many we support, joy is mixed with longing—families divided by war, borders, or exile. To everyone facing this day with mixed emotions: we see you. May there come a day when no one is forced to celebrate alone. #ReuniteRefugeeFamilies #EidMubarak

The non-sensical work ban on people seeking asylum is making people sick and harming the UK as a whole. As a coalition of more than 300 organisations, including charities, trade unions, businesses, and refugees, we urge you to lift this ban immediately. @asylumwelcome.bsky.social

🏃‍♀️ Running the Town and Gown? Let’s do it together this May 11th! 🏃‍♂️ Whether you’re a seasoned runner or tackling your first 10K, every step can help refugees and asylum seekers rebuild their lives. Sign up to fundraise for Asylum Welcome today: 🔗 www.asylum-welcome.org/fundraise/

No one deserves to be forced into isolating, dehumanising living conditions that violate their right to dignity. We call for people seeking sanctuary to be housed in community with others, in conditions that are life-affirming, not soul-destroying. #Asylum #RefugeesWelcome

Want to stand in solidarity with refugees & asylum seekers? It takes just 30 seconds to make a difference. ✍️ Sign Allan’s petition to #KeepCampsfieldClosed & oppose the return of immigration detention to Oxfordshire. Every signature sends a message—add yours now! ⬇️ change.org/keepcampsfieldclosed

This #IWD, we’re thinking of the refugee women we support in Oxfordshire—women who’ve lost everything but are rebuilding their lives. 📽️ Our brilliant volunteer Rose shares more www.asylum-welcome.org/wp-content/u... If you can, please chip in tinyurl.com/awwomen25. If not, sharing helps. Thanks! 💜

1,300 people emailed their MP to demand an end to hostile environment - opposing appalling refugee citizenship ban & calling for safe routes in new Immigration Bill MPs have now started scrutinising the Bill & pushing for crucial changes @asylumwelcome.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/PG2l1...

📣New leadership announcement! We are excited to share the news that Sarah Totterdell and Hari Reed have been appointed as Asylum Welcome’s new Co-Directors, due to start on 1st May. They bring extensive skills & experience and exciting vision for our future. www.asylum-welcome.org/new-leadersh....

“These measures mimic the performative cruelty of the [previous] government rejected by voters last July. They also breach Britain’s international obligations to respect the right to claim asylum and guarantee safe routes." Speaks for everyone (of whatever party) who expected better. Well said. 👏👏