Borough of Sanctuary

​As a borough of sanctuary, we are committed to helping refugees and asylum seekers living or arriving in Camden to access the support they need to rebuild their lives.  

To achieve this, we work with a range of strategic and local partners and with our local communities to deliver places of sanctuary and a culture of welcome, dignity and inclusion for those fleeing war, persecution or human rights abuse.  

Our borough of sanctuary forum brings together charities and community groups from across the borough to help refugee communities to rebuild their lives.  

To find out how your community group or charity can be part of our borough of sanctuary network, contact [email protected] or [email protected].

Find out how you can donate or volunteer to support refugee facing charities.

Our objectives include: 

• to be a Borough of Sanctuary for refugees arriving or living in Camden, working with our communities to develop offers that are culturally tailored to meet the diverse needs of refugees and asylum seekers in the borough. 
• providing long-term support for refugees making their home in Camden and taking their journey from refugee to resident.   
• working with the Home Office and our delivery partners to ensure asylum seekers living in short-stay hotels are safeguarded from harm and access the service options they need.   
• helping all refugees and asylum seekers in Camden to access a viable move-on option, which recognises their household's needs and enables them to self-determine their future, wherever possible. 
• work with our strategic partners to adopt a “fair shares” approach to asylum across London, which recognises existing local housing pressure and ensure that temporary homes for asylum seekers and refugees are of a decent standard and are safe. 
• to influence the direction of national policy regarding refugees, asylum seekers and migrants so that there are safe routes of entry into the UK, additional housing capacity where it is needed, work opportunities and a culture of compassion and welcome for all. 

​Borough of Sanctuary Small Grants 

The borough of sanctuary small grants programme will see a range of projects delivered across Camden. The aim of the grants is to connect refugee communities, especially those who are recent arrivals, with community resources and with opportunities to grow and thrive. In June 2025, twelve organisations were awarded a total of £58,000.

Projects include a language exchange programme, football sessions for young people from Ukraine and Afghanistan, and a community connectors initiative to enable people with lived experience to co-design a programme of activities. 

Here is a list of organisation names, the project summary and the grant award amount. 

Hatice Salon

Partnership with Highgate Newtown Community Partners offering free hair dressing for refugees and asylum seekers.

Grant award: £3,000

Bahu Awareness     

Health and wellbeing activities for Persian/Farsi speaking diaspora. Partnership with Castlehaven Community Centre.  

Grant award: £5,000

New Horizons Youth Centre (NHYC)    

Activities and advice services for young refugees and asylum seekers at risk of or experiencing homelessness.    

Grant award: £5,000

American International Church (AIC)    

Art in group settings and interactive language classes.

Grant award: £5,000

C4WS    

Case work and support for refugees and asylum seekers experiencing homelessness, including employability support.     

Grant award: £5,000

Inclusive Coaching

Confidence building group work and skills development for refugees and asylum seekers.    

Grant award: £5,000

Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London

Homelessness and welfare fund - asylum seekers.  

Grant award: £5,000

Food for Homeless     

Food offer for refugees and asylum seekers experiencing homelessness, with signposting and wrap-around support.   

Grant award: £5,000

Bloomsbury Football     

Football and sports coaching for young refugees and asylum seekers (partnering Maria Fidelis school).

Grant award: £5,000

Abbey Community Centre     

Co-designed community connectors project to signpost to existing community activities and development of new activities.     

Grant award: £5,000

Families4Peace

Arts and crafts sessions for Ukrainian women.

Grant award: £5,000

Ethiopian Community in Britain     

Food and social gathering for refugees and asylum seekers from East Africa.   

Grant award: £5,000

​