All change at the New Arrivals Alliance

Hello!

My name is Andrew and I am now supporting the work of the New Arrivals Alliance, following the departure of the previous NAA Manager, Richard Keene.

I have been working in the refugee sector for the last 23 years in roles including Case Worker for Refugee Action, Community Development Worker for the Regional Refugee Forum North East, and most recently, Chief Executive of Upbeat Communities.

I was involved in setting up the NAA during my time with Upbeat Communities and sat on the steering group until November 2025. I’m grateful to be supporting the ongoing work of the NAA and seeing a coordinated and flourishing refugee sector in Derby.

I work part time, usually Tuesdays and Wednesdays – if you’d like to connect, please reach out by email or phone:

andrew.jackson@communityactionderby.org.uk / 01332 346266

Outside of my NAA consultancy role, I volunteer as chair of Derby City of Sanctuary Network, working to build a culture of welcome across the whole of Derby for those seeking sanctuary - engaging education providers, arts and culture organisations, faith communities and businesses.

I am also delighted to announce the NAA’s first official volunteer – Guy Freeman! Guy has been working with the British Red Cross for many years supporting refugees in Derby. His role with the NAA will be to ensure up-to-date information is collated and communicated across the membership, which will include ensuring the NAA webpages are updated and relevant.

To connect with Guy, and to share any information you think is relevant for communication by the NAA, please email newarrivalsalliance@communityactionderby.org.uk

To complete the team, we are supported by Katya Lomas, who is an Administrator at Community Action. She can be contacted by email at katya.lomas@communityactionderby.org.uk

I will be communicating the future plans for the NAA in coming weeks, but for now I thought it would be helpful to give a brief overview of the services that have been commissioned by the NAA (with funding from Derby City Council). 3 projects have been implemented based on the findings of the original research carried out by Julian Prior (which you can read here)

These are:

• Beacon – a single point of contact (SPOC) for those newly arrived in Derby. This service, run by Upbeat Communities, involves weekly visits to the hotels housing asylum seekers, needs assessments and triage support, drop-ins, orientation sessions, referrals and market place events (bringing together new arrivals and agencies together in one place). As of the beginning of June 2026, a total of 477 people have been supported through the Beacon service.

For more information contact Ben Thomson – ben@upbeatcommunities.org or click here to read the report following the initial 12 month pilot phase

• Clothing & SIM referrals – Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance initially ran a pilot referral project for new arrivals to access clothing and SIM cards. Following a formal expression of interest process, DF4TA were successful in securing ongoing funding from the NAA to continue to deliver this service. Referrals for clothing happens directly via the Beacon service, with SIM referrals open to a wider range of partners. Between Sept 2025 and early June 2026, 324 people have been provided with a clothing pack (all new items) and 389 people have received SIM cards (with 6 months of data).

• New Arrivals Voices – a key focus was to ensure the voices of those with lived experience of being new arrivals in Derby was at the heart of the work of the NAA. Rebuild East Midlands were commissioned to facilitate a lived experience group, and approximately 15 individuals were recruited to join. They represent different nationalities, cultures, and viewpoints but all have recently arrived in Derby as refugees or asylum seekers. The group meets on a regular basis and has agreed 3 priorities:

1. Discussing what needs to change for New Arrivals in Derby and feeding this back to the New Arrivals Alliance, playing an active role in decision making within the Alliance.
2. Increasing awareness and knowledge in the community of what New Arrivals need to know
3. Amplifying the community’s views and experiences to decision makers and policy makers

"Being part of this group has made me feel welcomed and supported. It has given me confidence to share my ideas and feel included” – Group Participant

Examples of how they have achieved their priorities include:

• Working with Ben as part of the Beacon service to shape what information is provided to new arrivals
• Sharing their views on what good clothing supply looks like
• Meeting with the Council’s Social Cohesion Coordinator about reporting hate crime
• Submitting evidence to the UK Government’s inquiry on Routes to Settlement
• Meeting with the city’s 2 MPs to discuss support for those seeking sanctuary
• Attending the Hello Derby event at Derby Market Hall as part of Refugee Week and also speaking at the Derbyshire Refugee Conference organised by the University of Derby

Read more about the first six months of the NA Voices group here

A significant moment for the group was being recognised at Community Action’s Voluntary Sector Awards with the New Arrivals Ambassador Award – congratulations to the whole group for this achievement!