From its onset, Ideas Hub Chelmsford has always supported Chelmsford’s diverse communities and worked to increase equity in Chelmsford.

This support for asylum seekers and refugees started in 2016 by providing space and support to a charity created by two Essex mums (www.sidebysiderefugees.org) which raised donations and funds for those staying in the Jungle in Calais, as well as giving them support by advertising their cause.

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In August 2021, Ideas Hub Chelmsford was approached by the then MP for Chelmsford, Vicky Ford, to help with intelligence on local services to support the emergency arrival of the Afghan refugees on the ARAP scheme.

Ideas Hub became progressively involved in supporting the first six Afghan families to arrive initially supporting their general wellbeing including befriending them, providing workshops including language lessons, and signposting to other service providers. This was delivered through our community space in The Art Place during the Autumn of 2021.

In January 2022, a large group of new Afghan refugees dropped in at The Art Place seeking help. It emerged that over the Christmas period in 2021, more Afghan families on The ARAP scheme had arrived in Chelmsford, now totaling around 150 individuals with the majority under 18. The original support services that had been put in place in August to support the original six families were already at full capacity and were overwhelmed with the new arrivals. The community area in The Art Place was not large enough to cope with such high numbers, so the Ideas Hub decided to create a support base in the foyer of the refugees’ hotel.

Between January and August 2022, Ideas Hub Chelmsford, with the incredible support of a team of highly dedicated volunteers, composed mostly of retired professionals, worked around the clock to deliver the support needed, including signposting to other organisations. Key achievements during this period include:

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- 90 under 18s were enrolled in local schools

- 120 bikes were provided to enable travel to and from schools and workshops.

- 20 hours of ESOL lessons were provided each week, including during school holidays

- Equipment like toiletries, clothing, school uniforms, computers etc were sourced through requests for donations

- Significant individual support was provided such as with finding employment, parents evenings, medical appointments, etc

In August 2022, all the families staying in the hotel were sent into Temporary Accommodation and their places at the hotel were replaced by asylum seekers.

Around the same time (June 2022), the Home Office opened an additional ‘Initial Accommodation’ provision.

Together these ‘Initial Accommodations’ support around 500 individuals.

In addition, there are 12 dispersal accommodations, and around 14 survivors of slavery being supported in Chelmsford. In light of the sizeable and ongoing nature of the support being provided in Chelmsford, in September 2022, Ideas Hub founded ‘Chelmsford Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Migrants Project’.

Chelmsford Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Migrants Project has its own dedicated board, website, branding, team, budget and strategy including its own vision and mission. This project is under the umbrella of the registered charity Ideas Hub Chelmsford.

In total, the Ideas Hub Chelmsford is supporting over 800 individuals. In addition to the above (totalling around 525 individuals), the Ideas Hub supports around 300 active migrant cases.