Members Area

Annual Report 2000-2001

Full Members 2000/01
Action Group for Ethiopians in Ealing (AGEE)
Centre for Armenian Information and Advice (CAIA)
Hillingdon Chinese Community Organisation
Horn of Africa Advice Centre (HORAC)
Iranian Association
Iraqi Community Association
Kurdish Association West London
The Lady's Creative Centre
Middle East Christian Minorities Advisory Centre (MECMAC)
POLSOM
Red Sea Health & Community Care Association
Refugee Aid & Development (RAAD)
Russian Refugees Aid Society
Society of Afghan Residents in the UK (SAR)
Somali Self-Help and Welfare Association

Associate Members 2000/01
Inquilab Housing Association
Omid Housing Association
Refugee Housing Association
Somali Youth Project
St Anselm's Church (RC)

Management Committee Members 2000/01

Funders 2000/01

The Refugee Council
The Camelot Foundation
Comic Relief
The London Borough of Ealing

Ealing Refugee Forum

WHO ARE WE?

Ealing Refugee Forum was established in 1996 as the representative body for refugee community organisations with clients in the London Borough of Ealing.

WHY ARE WE HERE?

We believe that

• Refugees should control their own destinies
• What unites our communities is more important than what divides us
• Working together in the Forum is a practical expression of that common interest and strengthens all our communities.
• Ealing Refugee Forum therefore exists to strengthen refugee communities in the borough and represent their joint interests.

WHAT DO WE DO?

We provide a voice for refugee organisations in the London Borough of Ealing in discussions and negotiations with statutory, voluntary and other relevant organisations.

We act as a forum to discuss issues relating to refugees and asylum seekers.

We act as a consultative body for the discussion of the Council's as well as other statutory agencies' policies/strategies on refugee and race related issues.

We seek funding from a wide variety of sources to assist refugee organisations within the London Borough of Ealing.

We provide a network for the dissemination of information, good practice and the sharing of skills and support refugee community organisations to develop services for their community members.

We actively promote the valuable contribution refugee organisations make to the community.

We enter into partnership with appropriate agencies to further the aims of the Forum and to produce tangible benefits for refugee organisations within the London Borough of Ealing.

ACTIVITY REPORT 2000/20001

Partnership and Networking

The Forum is represented in a number of partnership bodies where it works alongside other organisations to find solutions to common problems.

1) RENEWAL SRB6
The RENEWAL Single Regeneration Budget project is designed to specifically benefit refugees living in the six West London boroughs of Ealing, Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Hammersmith and Fulham. Ealing Refugee Forum has been involved with the project from its earliest stages and has played a part in formulating the initial bid and overseeing the development of the project. Two representatives sit on the RENEWAL Advisory Board which comprises twelve refugee representatives and twelve from organisations not owned and led by refugees with an independent Chair. Alongside other West London refugee fora Ealing Refugee Forum continues to drive the agenda of RENEWAL to ensure that it yields maximum benefit for local refugee organisations. Some organisations have already received funding in the first year of the seven year programme through the Community Chest and more expansive funding streams are currently being developed. RENEWAL has also commissioned a Mapping and Baseline Study being undertaken by Market and Opinion Research International (MORI) and Michael Bell Associates which will provide the factual evidence to direct services to needs and the Forum has been actively involved in facilitating this study.

2) Ealing Working Group on Refugees and Asylum Seekers (EWGRAS)
EWGRAS is a partnership between Ealing Refugee Forum and the London Borough of Ealing and other agencies which quantifies the needs of numbers of refugees in Ealing in order to plan appropriate services. EWGRAS has commissioned MORI to produce a Refugee Needs Analysis similar to the RENEWAL study and several member organisations have participated in this. Ealing Refugee Forum has been involved in developing the methodology of the Refugee Needs Analysis and has facilitated its execution by organising interviews between individual refugees and MORI researchers. Ealing Refugee Forum will continue to play a role in developing the response to this report to ensure that accessible and responsive services are developed for refugees living in this borough.

3) Other Refugee Fora
Ealing Refugee Forum has helped to establish other refugee fora in West London. Hounslow Refugee Forum was launched on 30th January with the active participation of Ealing Refugee Forum members who helped organise the launch and served on the interim steering group and acting management committee which succeeded it. Ealing Refugee Forum continues to provide administrative support to the Hounslow forum which is receiving consultancy support from Ms. Angela Richardson through the Evelyn Oldfield Unit development programme for West London funded by the Alan and Babette Sainsbury Trust. Similarly representatives from Ealing Refugee Forum have assisted in developing Hammersmith and Fulham Refugee Forum which is now established and in taking the first steps to set up Hillingdon Refugee Forum. The concept of a forum of community organisations run by and for those organisations is gaining strength and in addition to the above we have also advised the new Haringey Refugee Forum and have ensured representation of each refugee forum on relevant partnership bodies both locally and sub-regionally.

4) West London Refugee Standing Committee
Ealing Refugee Forum also has taken a leading role in establishing West London Refugee Standing Committee (WLRSC or 'Wrestlers') which is the co-ordinating body for the refugee fora in the six West London boroughs. WLRSC assists in co-ordinating their development at sub-regional level and ensuring that refugees can speak with one voice on developments affecting the West London sub-region. WLRSC meets in between meetings of the RENEWAL Advisory Board and reports its decisions to that body at each meeting together with its agreed position on the RENEWAL agenda items. Each meeting is held in a different borough at a different time of day to enable each member to attend at a convenient time and place. Ealing Refugee Forum is providing administrative support to WLRSC and has recently drawn up a budget and obtained consultancy assistance for WLRSC from Mr. Roger Bronkhurst through the Sainsbury Trust and Evelyn Oldfield Unit development programme. Among the recent achievements of WLRSC is the reconceptualising of the RENEWAL grant making policy away from the concept of Beacon Project funding towards a more appropriate funding concept which refugee community organisations can readily access.

5) Other Representative Work
Ealing Refugee Forum has remained actively involved in a number of local partnerships dealing with refugee issues. These include

• Ealing Shadow Local Strategic Partnership
• Ealing, Hammersmith & Hounslow Health Authority Fair Access Forum
• Ealing, Hammersmith & Hounslow Health Authority Language Network
• Ealing Community and Police Consultative Group
• Ealing Homelessness Forum
• Action Acton Community Task Group
• Ealing Domestic Violence Forum
• Voluntary Sector liaison with political groups in Ealing organised by Ealing Voluntary Service Council.

The Forum has also attended numerous one-off meetings where the views of refugees have been sought. Chief among these was the West London Alliance conference on the future of London on 3rd April which sought to develop a strategic vision for the overall development of West London and its communities and was addressed by the Mayor of London.

Capacity Building

During 2000/2001 the Forum has set out to increase the capacity of itself and its member organisations and has achieved this in a number of ways.

1) Training Events
On 12th July 2000 the Forum held a training day at Ealing Town Hall on the entitlement of refugees to welfare benefits under the new support arrangements. Ten organisations attended this all day training which was delivered by Ms. Rebecca Walker of London Advice Services Alliance. As the new support arrangements had only recently been formulated at this time the training empowered Ealing groups to address potential problems before they arose and enabled them to correct the mistakes of others from a position of strength.

On 15th February the Forum also organised a Community Legal Service Quality Mark training day at the Centre for Armenian Information and Advice attended by eighteen refugee groups. The training was delivered by Ms. Emma Rigby and Ms. Gill Berryman from Partners in Community Law and also briefed participants on the Office of the Immigration Service Commissioners (OISC) standard which had just been introduced. Both the Quality Mark and the OISC standard will seriously affect every refugee community organisation in Ealing and the training empowered groups to approach these challenges with a confidence borne of knowledge and counteract the threats these new developments also pose.

It is intended to hold more training events in future and to this end the Co-ordinator has conducted outreach visits among member organisations and drawn up a list of training requests which will form the basis of a full training programme.

2) Consultancy Support
The Forum has utilised the services of two consultants during the past year as part of the aforementioned Evelyn Oldfield Unit and Sainsbury Trust development programme. Ms. Angela Richardson has provided fundraising assistance to the Forum and to member organisations on a one to one basis and in particular assisted the Forum's successful bid to RENEWAL SRB6 which enables us to employ a full time Co-ordinator. Subsequently Mr. Roger Bronkhurst has provided legal assistance to the Forum and in particular has drawn up a Memorandum and Articles to enable us to apply for charitable status and gain incorporation as a company and continues to offer assistance on contract and partnership arrangements. Our thanks go to the Evelyn Oldfield Unit for providing these consultancies and for the consultants who have diligently helped shape the professional development of our Forum.

3) Premises
The Forum has now relocated to new premises at Acton Town Hall under a licence agreement with the London Borough of Ealing. It is now housed in the old computer room on the ground floor which will eventually be shared by several voluntary groups. We have also assisted member organisations to obtain premises in this expensive area and in particular the Horn of Africa Advice Centre which is now based at St. Andrews Church Centre in Mount Park Road. Premises remains an ongoing issue for voluntary groups and Ealing Refugee Forum remains committed to assisting groups in this area. Our thanks go to the Centre for Armenian Information and Advice in Acton which hosted the Forum until the move was effected.

4) Refugee Week Event
As in previous years Ealing Refugee Forum hosted a Refugee Week event in 2001 although at very short notice. On 28th June in Ealing Town Hall ten refugee community organisations and a number of outside agencies working with refugees contributed to the main event of a comprehensive programme by providing stalls, food and cultural presentations advertising their work. In addition to previous contributors to these annual Forum organised events a number of new organisations also contributed and were able to demonstrate the valuable and high quality work being performed daily by refugee community organisations on very slender resources. This year's event was made possible by a grant arrangement with RENEWAL to whom we also give our thanks. It is intended that in future years such events will be organised well in advance to encourage greater participation and attendance.

Newsletter

The Forum now publishes a newsletter every two months thanks to funding from the Camelot Foundation and the Trust for London. This is an important means of linking refugee groups in Ealing with their forum and enabling them to participate in its work. The newsletter is distributed to over 100 local organisations and informs readers of the latest developments in the refugee sector as well as the latest news from the Forum and funding and job opportunities. Due to the Forum's involvement with developing other refugee fora and West London Refugee Standing Committee the work of these organisations is also regularly featured. Anyone wishing to contribute information to the newsletter should contact the Co-ordinator at the Forum offices.

Staffing

Ealing Refugee Forum now employs a full-time Co-ordinator. After an open and competitive recruitment process Mr. Rumwold Leigh was appointed to this post on 23rd May. Prior to this Ms. Liz Cox was employed as a part-time Co-ordinator but due to funding restrictions this post could only be offered for four hours a week. This was felt to be inadequate for the Forum's needs and therefore funding for a full time post was successfully sought.

Employing a full-time Co-ordinator will enable the Forum to work more proactively and enhance its capacity to assist its member organisations. In particular it is intended to hold more training events and to enhance networking and development relationships with other organisations. Individual organisations do not have the time or resources to undertake the strategic work necessary to develop their own organisations and the Forum will continue to perform this role for the benefit of refugees in Ealing to whom it is answerable.

Funding and Finances

The annual accounts for the year ending 31st March 2001 are attached to this report. The subsequent successful funding bids to RENEWAL and the Trust for London will significantly increase our turnover in the coming year and have given us greater opportunity to expand our funding portfolio. In addition to funding carried over from the previous year we are also grateful to London Borough of Ealing for increasing its own grant for the forthcoming year and for the Refugee Council for granting the funds to organise the Refugee Week event in June 2001 alongside RENEWAL and the London Borough of Ealing.

It is anticipated that with the advent of a full-time Co-ordinator the Forum will be able to raise further funds for both itself and its members. In the coming year Ealing Refugee Forum seeks to help its members obtain funds by acting as a conduit for partnership bids made by members under areas of common interest. This model has previously proven successful and should be equally so in Ealing where there are many well established communities with track records of project management. Incorporation as a company will also help in this regard.

The Forum would once again like to thank both RENEWAL and Trust for London for their grant aid for 2001/02.

ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2000/01

Year Ending 31st March 2001

Income

Expenditure

I being the Chair of Ealing Refugee Forum hereby certify that these accounts were approved by the Management Committee of Ealing Refugee Forum at its meeting of 12th April 2001.



MISAK OHANIAN
Chair, Ealing Refugee Forum