Developing a new Refugee Support Network in MK
We have been collaborating with a range of local VCSE groups, directly supporting our local refugee and asylum seeking community members, to explore how we can work effectively together to enable signposting and information sharing in order to help those communities rebuild their lives.
We held an initial scoping meeting back in March 2023 with a smaller group of organisations that have over the years supported a number of different refugee communities (e.g. those from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine). This meeting has helped us identified some key areas of need – both for community members and the organisations supporting them.
See the notes from the meeting here and the interactive jamboard with feedback and ideas here.
Following on from that initial meeting, we held a Networking and Community event at the end of June 2023, in collaboration with Eden Project Communities as part of the Month of Community, which was co-produced with many of the groups involved in the initial meeting. We are in the process of gathering resources and sharing our notes from the meeting, but some initial resources include:
- Here you can have a sneak peak into some of the photographs from the day
- Here and below you can see the short film shown at the event – courtesy of Ukraine Appeal:
- Here you can find out more about the Women for Refugee Women campaign – ‘Set Her Free. Read the recent blog from MK Fawcett group here and contact them on miltonkeynesfawcettgroup@gmail.com if you would like to support the campaign locally!
- Here you can find out more about the City of Sanctuary Scheme.
Who can get involved and how to get involved?
We are inviting and encouraging all local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise groups and organisations in Milton Keynes to join this collaborative initiative. Whether you are directly providing support to refugees or not, this network is relevant and open to all VCSE groups who provide support and activates in Milton Keynes. Joining this network will help you reach out to the local refugee community members and access support in areas such as translation of materials and information about your services and activities – to make them more accessible.
Latest Updates:
Newsletter – 15th September 2023
Upcoming Meetings and Events:
To be confirmed – please visit this page and sign up to our new Refugee Support mailing list to get updates on upcoming opportunities.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or suggestions, we would love to hear from you – email us at networks@communityactionmk.org or call 01908 661 623.
