Active Partnership support local organisations to respond to refugee crisis

Posted on 6th April 2022
group of female refugees taking part in movement class in community hall

Sport and Physical activity can help unite communities, create solidarity, and support communities to rebuild happy and safe lives.

As the crisis in Ukraine continues, Active Partnerships have come together to share ideas and learning as to how the power of sport and physical activity can be used to welcome, include, and embrace refugees from across the world.  Working as a national network and within our local communities, Active Partnerships have written a collective response and committed to 5 main actions outlined below.

In addition to this work Active Partnerships have also been looking at their own policies and investments ensuring pension schemes and investments are not attached to Russia and Partnerships like SASP have used the opportunity to move to an ethical and sustainable portfolio.

 Below are some examples of the work Active Partnerships are doing in relation to the collective response in their local areas.

 

  1. Support the efforts of the Disasters Emergency Committee and invite partners and sports networks in our communities to get behind their appeal, raising vitally needed funds where they are needed most.

Active Partnerships have used their network of clubs and partners to help promote the DEC appeal across the sector and used their power and energy to raise funds to support the refugees of war.  Supporting DEC ensures we can be confident that money raised gets to where it needs to be quickly.

Some examples include;

  • Active Oxfordshire wrote to over 3000 people on their Active Clubs database,
  • Active Surrey used social media to encourage clubs to target their members by highlighting a couple of clubs who were very quick off the mark locally
  • Think Active used their sports club workshops to advocate fundraising opportunities that local clubs and groups can contribute to.
  • SASP promoting fundraising and equipment drop offs
  • Active Norfolk and Energize STW staff are undertaking physical activity based charitable fund-raising to support refugees from across the world.
  • The CEO of Rise has written a blog around considering support to all refugees.

 

2. Build on existing work in our respective areas listening to the needs of local refugee organisations.  

Active Partnerships are working closely with local organisations across the country to identify where they can value, this includes working with local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSE), statutory and refugee organisations.

Some examples include;

  • GreaterSport collaborating with VCSE partners on a collective response
  • Active Surrey, Active Oxfordshire, Team BEDS&LUTON, Active Notts and Active Derbyshire working closely with the county council, Local Authority colleagues and local refugee organisations to identify wellbeing support needed and be part of a co-ordinated response
  • Active Humber working with City of Sanctuaries.
  • Yorkshire Sport Foundations using existing relationships with local 3rd sector groups and council migration teams, to ensure they know what support they can provide if needed.
  • Active Dorset immediate work is with unitary authority who have 5 hotels occupied with refugees, mostly non-Ukrainian. 
  • Together Active working with the County Council to offer support in terms of physical activity with any refugee groups, building on the support they have provided around Afghan refugees.


3. Use sport and physical activity to help incoming refugees feel welcome, settled, and included in our communities.

Active Partnerships are working with the local communities to identify the role that physical, and activity can play to help integrate refugees into communities, familiarise themselves with their local areas and facilities and support their wellbeing. This work builds on previous support provided to other refugees from around the world.  

 Some examples include;

  • Energize STW working with their local refugee charity to pledge support for any projects that may provide an ‘active welcome’
  • Herts Sport as part of the Hertfordshire Community Leaders Forum, the voice of the VCFSE sector, working to ensure refugees have access to affordable (free), appropriate and accessible sport and physical activity opportunities. They are also continuing to work with their charity partner- Goods for Good - to ensure access to sportswear and have earmarked £70,000 from their reserves to work with their sister charity to ensure that refugees can be provided with a bicycle as part of the Herts reCycle programme. 
  • Through Sport England’s Together Fund (TF) many Active Partnerships have developed relationships with local refugee organisations and are now working to see what further support and resources it could provide and solicit bids where appropriate.
  • County Durham Sport and Active Partners Trust are working with clubs to think about what they can do to support refugees to feel part of a sporting community, providing free membership and access to activities.
  • Active Norfolk is planning on using the Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme to initiate a targeted offer to support families moving to the area while also considering additional services such as bereavement support, translators, child practitioners.
  • Active Humber are working with local organisations who provide educational support to Year 11 refugee and asylum seekers and providing an additional sport and physical activity offer.
  • Active Oxfordshire are extending their Sanctuary Wheels intervention to take it county wide and are exploring if it can be widened to other activities, sports and equipment provision, building on existing links and their new partnership with Access Sports.



4. Share our collective learnings and best practice, so that we can build on what’s already working well.

Active Partnerships are also coming together nationally to share ideas of what is working and build on collective learnings but are also supporting this to happen across their partnership areas.

 Some examples include;

  • GreaterSport gathering insight and information to identify how best to support differing needs, interests and aspirations of the refugee and asylum seeker community in GM to be physically active.
  • London Sport using identified useful learning and insight from past programmes with refugees to develop best practice, such as the Street League Refugee Project and Pecan’s work with asylum seekers.
  • Active Essex is planning a county-wide virtual Share & Learn event open to their partners across Essex, about engaging culturally diverse communities into physical activity. This will include a speaker from Refugee Action Colchester talking about the challenges of working with refugees and asylum seekers but also highlighting the partnership working they have been part of in Colchester

 

Nationally we are collecting case studies from past work with refugee communities to share the learning and challenges

 

 5. Work closely with Sport England and other national partners on future work with refugees.

Active Partnership are committed to working with national partners and Sport England to develop this area of work and ensure resources are used effectively.

 Some examples include;

  • Active Partners Trust are supporting Sport England colleagues to develop insight about the challenges facing all asylum seekers, refugees and migrants using understanding gained from working with a local refugee charity.
  • Active Oxfordshire are lending direct support (i.e person power) for 3 hours per week (initially for 3 months) to help Welcome Asylum prepare for the arrival of refugees from Ukraine and we are working with the County Council to ensure that all refugees in care already or due to arrive to join or be hosted by families can access the new “You Move”  collaborative intervention jointly funded by Public Health and Sport England when it is launched in April.

 

For more details on the work of the individual partnerships please contact your local Active Partnerships.

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