This piece explores Welcome and Connect—a project built on something simple but transformative: people walking alongside one another.
Like all LASSN’s work, it has evolved through the insight and experience of those involved—refugees finding their footing in Leeds, volunteers discovering new purpose, and staff learning from both.
By looking at the “why” behind it, we see how LASSN’s values take shape in real relationships: mutual, local, and focused on what really matters
“When I got the message that we had been granted leave to remain, I became speechless and emotional. It felt like finishing a long marathon—but the real race was just beginning.” — Amos
Recognition brings freedom, but not belonging. After years of waiting and surveillance, people often find themselves adrift—safe in name but alone in practice. Welcome and Connect exists because no one should have to rebuild a life by chance.
Building connection, not dependency
Refugee status usually means another move—to an unfamiliar flat, far from friends. Welcome and Connect answers that dislocation with something radical in its simplicity: people meeting people.
Volunteers are matched with newly recognised refugees for up to a year of one-to-one and group activities—walking, cooking, learning, exploring Leeds together. Volunteers don’t direct or rescue; they walk beside, helping people regain confidence at their own pace.
“I didn’t know anyone in Leeds. Now I have someone to walk with, to talk with. It makes me feel part of the city.” — Aysha
Shaped by lived experience
From the start, refugees and volunteers have designed how the project works—how matches are made, what activities run, what genuine welcome looks like. Some now train new volunteers or co-lead groups, keeping the project real and responsive. This isn’t service delivery; it’s solidarity in motion.
From recovery to belonging
Welcome and Connect complements crisis services by focusing on what happens after safety: the slow rebuild of confidence, trust and routine. For some, it begins with short walks or learning a bus route. For others, it leads to joint projects—tree planting, heritage restoration, exhibitions. Each shared experience reconnects people to community and place.
The ripple of welcome
This work changes volunteers too. Many describe renewed purpose and deeper ties to their neighbourhoods; some inspire others to join. Each small step—a GP visit, a conversation, a trip to the hills—builds agency. More than 60 percent of participants move into study, volunteering or work; 98 percent of volunteers finish feeling more connected to Leeds.
What keeps a city human
Welcome and Connect is an everyday act of solidarity in a system built on separation. It proves that welcome isn’t a programme or a project—it’s the daily work of keeping a city human.
by Jon Beech with Mehjabeen Hussein Rahim
Find out more about becoming a Welcome and Connect Volunteer here.
