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We had hoped to hold our AGM in person this year but sadly a Train strike was announced on the day of the event, and we've had to rearrange things. Here are the papers for the AGM Agenda and minutes of AGM 2021 Annual Accounts 2021/22 Annual Review 2021/22 Here are the short reports offered by Nicolle Levine (Chair) and Sven Ekblom (Treasurer) at the AGM Chair and Treasurer notes AGM 2022 Here's the presentation, given by the LASSN team, describing the last 12 months During the presentation, we posted a number of links to things in the chat. Here they are, in case you missed them. Music in the Attic "What I can see" - here's the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP9INCHxr7s Little Amal https://www.walkwithamal.org/about-us/little-amal-the-walk// The amazing Eva Pinthus https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/may/24/eva-pinthus-obituary Leeds Refugee World Cup 2022 World Cup Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98T-Wa0lTDM Uprooting Islamophobia https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745345413/tangled-in-terror/- the book by Suhaiyma Manzoor Khan One of Mahshid's films on the BBC website https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0bmxn4w

Background More than 400 Ukrainian adults (and 200 children) have arrived in Leeds since March 2022. They are staying with hosts who have welcomed them into their homes through the UK Government's Homes for Ukraine Scheme. LASSN has been supporting people to work through the challenges of hosting refugees for more than 20 years and is a founder member of the No Accommodation Network. In July 2022, Leeds City Council asked if LASSN would offer support to hosts of Ukrainian Households - and we proposed the following model of support. This project is currently resourced from October 2022 - September 2023. What kind of help can hosts expect? LASSN will employ a Development Worker to offer new and existing hosts the chance to meet one another, learn from one another, and find practical advice and assistance for the people they are supporting. The worker will organise local groups, listen to the priorities and concerns of Hosts in each group, and help them to work out how they will address these things themselves, as a group, or with the help of others. The worker will also offer to find support around specific issues based on the experiences of existing and former hosts. When we've run these groups before, hosts have asked for input around maintaining effective boundaries, conflict resolution and working with people who have experienced trauma. Hosts will decide what's most important, and our role will be to respond to this. In addition to learning/sharing skills like this, we also intend to invite people to attend these groups from Housing Advice, Children's Services, the NHS and other local support providers to explain the kind of help they can offer. We want to link Hosts directly to the people and groups who are best placed to help them. Please note: the worker will not offer one-to-one support to either Hosts or Guests. Instead, their role will be to help hosts (and their guests) to locate this support from groups and organisations across the city, and to ensure those places are aware of the very particular issues faced by Hosts and their Guests. In addition, we are updating helpinleeds.com and newtoleeds.org.uk to ensure up-to-date information is available to both hosts and their guests. Timeline of events July: Leeds City Council asks LASSN to develop a model of support for Hosts of Ukrainian refugees August: LASSN begins recruitment for the Development Worker role and starts work on updating helpinleeds.com and newtoleeds.org.uk September: Interviews take place for Development worker, and a resource page for Hosts is posted on the LASSN website October: Development worker starts, and information is circulated to Hosts. Hosts who wish to meet up are asked to register their interest via the LASSN website November: The first Hosting Network meetings take place For more information, please contact [email protected] and we'll do our best to help.

As of June 17th 2022 our new address will be 22/23 Blayds Yard, Leeds LS1 4AD We're shutting the office for a couple of days on Thursday 16th and Friday 17th June, and then reopening on Monday 20th June. If you need to contact us urgently during this time, please email us or call our mobiles. We're moving to larger, better ventilated offices in the centre of Leeds, to share a building and training space with our friends at Yorkshire MESMAC. The pandemic has really underlined our need for a space that can accomodate training sessions and meetings safely, as well as a central base for staff to work from. What is Blayds Yard like? It's a Victorian building on the edge of Leeds' LGBT+ quarter There's ramp access, and a proper lift for people who prefer not to use the stairs There's a large shared training room, about double the size of the one we have now Loads of parking nearby (except it's quite expensive - more of this later) This is what our front door looks like. Will LASSN's telephone number stay the same? Yes. But it will definitely be out of action on 16th and 17th June 2022, so please use the mobiles. Parking/how do I get there? Here's a link to a Google Map so you can plan your journey. We recommend coming to our offices by foot, by train, or by cycle. We don't have a dedicated car park space, and parking is expensive. The nearest multistorey is an eyewatering £3 a hour and the cheapest onstreet parking we've found is on Water Lane at £1.90 an hour, which is 5 minutes walk away. Click on the picture below to open Parkopedia - which lists all the on street and carpark spaces available. I use a bus, or a bike You can use this planner to plan your journey [link]. You can lock your bike and store it on one of our bicycle racks (but you'll need to contact us in advance)

In the last year many people have experienced disconnection and loneliness, and the people LASSN work alongside are no exception. Over the last year, LASSN has worked hard to overcome these barriers by putting affordable technology into the hands into the hands of anyone who has needed it, and by supporting other people with the same goal. We're long-term collaborators with solidaritech.com but this year, we had to do a little but more for ourselves... March 2020 Lockdown restrictions mean face to face support from LASSN is suspended. All LASSN clients and volunteers offered £5/month phone costs; LASSN hosts fortnightly Leeds Migration Partnership online lunchtime chats, to keep colleagues networked and in touch with one another; LASSN provides free WIFI to destitute asylum seekers accomodated by Leeds City Council April-May 2020 helpinleeds.com - updated by a LASSN volunteer on furlough furloughed LASSN staff support launch of Migration Yorkshire's migrantinfohub.org.uk LASSN's post on the use of video tech and the cost of data on migrationpartnership.org.uk is the most popular ever, with over 4000 hits April-July 2020 Our city-wide Digital Inclusion Scheme launches - volunteers collect/wipe/unlock and distribute more than 100 phones, 40 WIFI dongles, 150 data SIM cards to asylum seekers and refugees in Leeds. This is mostly thanks to the flexibility of the Police and Crime Commissioner, who let us use the grant they gave us, for this. LASSN shares experiences through Refugee Action Good Practice Hub and with colleagues at 100% Digital and Leeds' Health and Wellbeing Board LASSN volunteers managers work closely with colleagues from other organisations to develop online content, social/chat spaces, and the confidence/skill to run effective online groups May-September 2020 LASSN develops online resources for Tutors and Befrienders, online support training, as well as online safeguarding guidance a small library of spare laptops/tablets/PCs to be loaned to clients and volunteers as needed June-October 2020 LASSN partners with Leeds Refugee Forum to secure costs of improving Leeds Refugee Forum website creating microsites for each of the Refugee Community Organisations supported by LRF supplying 12 Refugee Community Organisations with laptops, broadband costs, and digital training development of digital skills for refugees and people seeking asylum, in a variety of languages July 2020 Phone costs offered to LASSN clients and volunteers increases to £10/month August-September 20 PCs and webcams supplied to Hotels being used by Home Office contractors to house asylum seekers in Leeds, York and Hull  all Grace Hosts and people living at Grace House anyone wanting to volunteer with LASSN who does not have the digital equipment to do so November 2020 increased participation of Refugee Community Organisations in citywide strategic discussions by offering £35/hr "back-fill" for time spent in meetings. LASSN starts work on what will become Events in Leeds with Leeds City of Sanctuary, Refugee Council’s New Roots and the Leeds Migration Partnership, in collaboration with Maryan from sidelabs LASSN starts to recruit and deliver volunteer training online December 2020 LASSN increases data allowance for clients and volunteers to £20 a month LASSN creates [...]

Each year, we write a summary of what we’ve been up to at English at Home, for our funders at The National Lottery. This year, we thought we’d share it a bit more widely.  It’s full of stories and inspiration.  Thank you and congratulations to all the learners, tutors, volunteers and supporters who make English at Home what it is. We are proud to know you all, and celebrate your immense achievements.  Tina and David 

LASSN is run by a small group of Trustees, who are there to make sure our work always reflects our vision and values, and is a well-run organisation. Some of our Trustees have experiencing of volunteering with LASSN, and some do not. Some have experience of seeking asylum or forced migration, and some do not. Some have been Trustees before and for some people it's all new. What matters most is that our Trustees reflects the interests and concerns of people involved with LASSN, and that our Trustees have the knowledge and experience to help guide and support our work. With their support we are able to achieve huge amounts - as detailed in our Annual Report and Accounts, and Annual Review.  Every year or so, our Trustees review the knowledge and experience of existing Trustees and work out where we might have gaps, or areas we want to strengthen. The last time Trustees did this (in March 2019) they decided LASSN should prioritise getting more Trustees who are people with experience of seeking refuge in the UK women (our Chair and our Deputy Chair are both women, but we want to recruit more) people with financial or accounting skills (our existing Treasurer is due to step down in Spring 2019) people who have experience of working in refugee or asylum focused projects Like all volunteer roles at LASSN we provide a comprehensive induction and ongoing support, and out of pocket expenses. If you are interested in finding out more about the role, please get in touch with [email protected] or call 0113 373 1759 If you are not an existing volunteer with LASSN, we also ask that you complete an online volunteer application form. When you do - someone will be in touch very soon to talk about next steps. Here's a description of the role - what's involved, and what kind of time commitment Trustees make Here's a description of the role of Treasurer If you are interested in finding out more about the role, please get in touch with [email protected] or call 0113 373 1759 If you are not an existing volunteer with LASSN, we also ask that you complete an online volunteer application form. When you do - someone will be in touch very soon to talk about next steps.

Volunteers are essential to the work of LASSN, and we are committed to ensuring volunteers are able to claim back any out of pocket expenses they generate as part of their volunteering. In fact, LASSN gets grant funding specifically to meet these costs (and if volunteers don't claim their expenses, we have to give it back!) The last time we reviewed our Expenses policy was in 2011. At that time, Trustees capped the amount each volunteer could claim at £30 per month. In October 2018 Trustees reviewed this policy, and decided that from November 2018 LASSN will increase the amount volunteers can claim to £37 per month, per person, in line with cost of living increases. Trustees have also agreed to review this amount annually. We know that volunteering with LASSN is never about the expenses. But we also appreciate that as costs increase, so must the amount we are able to refund. If you prefer not to claim back your out of pocket expenses, we respect your decision and we will the pay back unclaimed monies to our grant givers. That said, we also know that some of our volunteers claim their out of pocket expenses and then donate them back to LASSN. If they pay tax, then by Gift Aiding their £37 of expenses back to LASSN, we get the benefit of £46.25 of unrestricted income. Whatever you choose to do about claiming your expenses from LASSN, we want you to know how much we value your contribution, and what a difference you are making to the lives of asylum seekers and refugees in Leeds. Thank you from everyone at LASSN Jon