For many young migrants and refugees, the journey into education, training, or employment is shaped by more than ambition alone.

Language barriers, unfamiliar systems, low confidence, and limited professional networks can make even the first step feel out of reach. Youth Act: Skills for Employment and Empowerment was created to help change that.

With support from Heathrow Community Trust, this project works with young migrants and refugees across West London, offering practical guidance, personal encouragement, and a supportive space to grow. Our focus is simple: to help young people build the skills, confidence, and connections they need to move forward.

Over the year, we will deliver a programme of hybrid employability workshops, covering CV writing, interview preparation, digital skills, communication, and understanding the UK workplace. Alongside these sessions, participants will be able to access one-to-one mentoring, providing tailored support for job applications, training pathways, and personal goals.

We will also run wellbeing and resilience sessions to reduce isolation, strengthen self-belief, and support young people’s emotional wellbeing, as well as a community networking event that brings young people together with mentors, volunteers, and professionals. The programme is designed to be flexible and accessible, with online participation available for those unable to attend in person.

In this first year, we aim to reach 95 young people, provide up to 200 hours of mentoring, and create meaningful opportunities for progression, confidence-building, and connection. We hope participants will leave not only better prepared for work or study, but also feeling more supported, more hopeful, and more connected to their communities.

At the heart of this work is a belief that young people should not have to navigate these barriers alone. With the right support, they can thrive, contribute, and shape a more inclusive future for the communities around them.

With thanks to our funder: Heathrow Community Trust

📌 For more information, contact us:

📝 Please register here (Fill in this form to join the next workshop or receive one-to-one support)

💖 Support this project with a donation → [Donate Now] 

A Practical Guide for Organisations: Responding to the Home Office’s “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement” Consultation

(Closes 12 February 2026)

Dear Colleagues,

You will have seen the Home Office consultation “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement”. It proposes replacing most current 5-year routes to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) with a default 10-year earned pathway — and for many groups, including low earners, essential workers, refugees, and those who have claimed public funds, the wait could extend to 15, 30 years or longer.

These changes could apply retrospectively, upending the timelines people are already relying on. The human cost is clear: prolonged family insecurity, rising child poverty, deeper mental health strain, and increased pressure on crisis services.

As organisations supporting migrants, refugees, families, survivors of abuse, care leavers, and low-wage workers, we have a shared responsibility to respond — and to do so together.

To help, We have created a practical Advocacy Guide for organisations. It offers:

-Suggested answers for every consultation question, rooted in evidence and real casework

-Flexible wording you can adapt with your own frontline examples

-Emphasis on key protections: non-retrospective application, exemptions for vulnerable groups, recognition of holistic contributions (like caregiving and volunteering), and safeguards against hardship and discrimination

Please add your organisation’s voice by completing the official survey here:

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/earned-settlement Deadline: 23:59 on 12 February 2026 — time is short. In solidarity.

Our free basketball school we organised with the aim of making the lives of immigrant and refugee youth easier begins. The basketball school, which we initiated in order to facilitate the lives of migrant and refugee youth and contribute to their adaptation to the country, is starting. ‘Hoops for Hope: Empowering Refugee and Immigrant Youth Through Basketball’, we will provide basketball courses to 100 immigrant youth living in London for 10 months.

The project will start in July 2023 and end in May 2024, during which time participating young people will receive basketball training at least twice a month. 2-day basketball camp will be organised during the Human Rights week in December. All trainees will be offered meals on training days. In addition, travelling expenses and sportswear will be provided for a certain number of students who cannot afford it.

Hoops for Hope: Empowering Refugee and Immigrant Youth Through Basketball is a new project aimed at supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged youth immigrants living in Greater London. Our focus is on providing basketball sessions that will help them to overcome barriers to accessing relevant services, reducing social isolation, and improving their physical and mental well-being.

We have extensive experience working with immigrant communities and have observed that many youth immigrants are struggling with a lack of social interaction and sports activities, resulting in social isolation and health problems. Many of them are also facing financial constraints or a lack of connection with their community, which limits their ability to access relevant services and opportunities.

We have been helping vulnerable and poor asylum seekers and immigrants who contacted us to seek help upon their advocacy, community and social needs, and legal process. We observe that many immigrant youth are struggling with a lack of social interaction and sports activities. As a result, many are experiencing social isolation and health problems. We are receiving inquiries from their parents who would like to have opportunities for engaging in social activities such as sports and social gathering.

The project will run for 10 months starting in July 2023 and will consist of supervised basketball sessions and two intensive basketball camps during refugee and human rights weeks. Our focus is on serving youth immigrants from Greater London, especially those living in highly populated, diverse, deprived, and multi-religious parts of Enfield, Westminster, Haringey, Harrow, Barnet, and Brent.

The beneficiaries of our project will be youth immigrants who are facing social and economic challenges, including a lack of access to relevant services and opportunities for social interaction and sports activities. By participating in our basketball sessions, these youth immigrants will have the opportunity to improve their physical and mental well-being, make friends, and become more engaged with their local community.

The impact of our project will be significant, as it will help to reduce existing structural inequalities and future social issues for immigrant communities. By providing a safe and supportive environment for youth immigrants to participate in basketball, we aim to improve their self-esteem, confidence, and social skills, which will have positive ripple effects in their personal and professional lives.

Through this project, we also aim to promote social inclusion and foster a sense of community among youth immigrants living in Greater London. By connecting them with each other and with local resources, we hope to help them feel more integrated and supported, thus contributing to a more cohesive and resilient society.

Project Registration: “Hoops for Hope: Empowering Immigrant Youth Through Basketball

Register Now