Times are tough. Every day we hear stories of decline and division, and see the communities that we serve scapegoated and demonised for problems they have nothing to do with. NACCOM members work in an ever more hostile environment. The consequences of this are real: our organisations, staff, volunteers and service users find themselves targeted by those wishing to stoke fear and division.
But something doesn't add up. Because despite all the noise, across our network we see acts of hope, solidarity and kindness every day. Normal people looking out for each other, regardless of who you are or where you're from. We know that our communities up and down the UK are full of decent people who want to take care of each other and get along. And as the voices of decline and division seem to grow louder and louder, NACCOM members respond in the way we know best: by showing up, every single day, to offer kindness and solidarity to our communities.
So often, these normal, everyday acts of hope go unnoticed. It's time to change that. For A Million Acts of Hope Week, we want to notice, celebrate and shout about the phenomenal work our members do every day.
Govan Community Project is building hope in Glasgow by creating safe spaces for community members to feel connected to their city and each other as they move through a system that so often forgets the humans behind journeys of migration and displacement.
They provide support through advice and advocacy to help members realise their rights and access services; anti-destitution support for those who have no other access to a supporting income; men's and women's community groups that foster life-long friendships through peer networks; homework clubs to support children of parents where English is not a first language; one-to-one mental health support and much more.
Each month, GCP's community meals project brings together our volunteer chefs and the wider community through the universal experience of sharing a culturally appropriate home cooked meal.
Since the start of the project, it has seen families, friends, community members, and even some notable guests join the tables at the Salvation Army hall in Govan to enjoy a meal that money simply can't buy.
GCP told us:
"We have seen firsthand the difference this can make; it doesn't just bring hope to our community, but brings hope to us all. Seeing our volunteers, chefs, members, and staff come together and share stories and recipes, for a few short hours each month, people forget their stresses or status and genuinely connect to one another.
Seeing that this is still possible in a world where tensions are rising, community is shrinking, and technology is separating us rather than connecting us is something that drives us to keep delivering. And we hope as long as people keep coming and eating, we will keep cooking."
Also in Glasgow, Ubuntu Women's Shelter are a NACCOM member who provide unconditional practical support for destitute women and people of other marginalised genders who have no recourse to public funds and insecure immigration status.
Since 2023, UWS have collaborated with GalGael to participate in their gardening programme once a month during the planting and harvesting seasons. UWS told us:
"The programme gives people the opportunity to connect with nature, with each other, and to work with their hands. It also allows them to nurture and grow produce that helps nourish their community. Afterwards, we share a meal together made with crops grown in the garden."
NACCOM's network of hope continues to grow, and one of our newest members, Greater Together Manchester, have been building hope by supporting disadvantaged communities across Greater Manchester for 10 years. Among many projects, their 5-a-side football club has been running every Tuesday evening for 4 years as part of their Lifeskills programme.
GTM told us that the football club "brings hope to our members as it is not only an activity that helps improve physical health and mental wellbeing, but it is also a space of community and connection."
"Because we have a shared enjoyment of football it is a great way for us to connect and get to know more people". – Lived Experience Volunteer Referee
ASSIST Sheffield works alongside people seeking sanctuary made destitute by the UK's asylum system. They provide a holistic, trauma-informed, service that includes safe housing, a hosting network, welfare support, casework, advocacy, community building, and the redistribution of resources.
ASSIST clients, volunteers, staff, and trustees came together to celebrate the Week of Hope by filling a giant orange heart with messages of hope. This heart is proudly displayed in their office hallway, emphasising ASSIST's values of welcome and solidarity. They also signed the biggest ever thank you card, and made their own personalised ASSIST greeting cards featuring blossom and spring-inspired designs created by clients and volunteers.
ASSIST spoke powerfully about why their work brings hope:
"What is written inside the heart encapsulates it perfectly: "hope is born again in the faces of children".
In times of unprecedented dehumanisation toward those seeking sanctuary, we face an increasingly Hostile Environment and asylum policies that push more people into destitution. Globally, wars escalate, driven by power-hungry leaders, while our climate edges toward collapse, displacing countless people in its furious wake.
In the face of this, it's easy to lose hope. It's easy to feel alone in our struggle to end destitution, to fight for basic human rights, and to ensure that everyone can live in safety and dignity. But witnessing the hope of others reinvigorates our own. It reminds us that we are not alone. We belong to a community of solidarity, one rich in resistance and power."
These are just a few examples of the thousands of ways NACCOM members bring hope to their communities. Whatever is thrown at them, they keep showing up every single day, offering the ultimate antidote to division and despair: simple, practical acts of solidarity and hope. So often this work goes unnoticed, but it is what holds communities together in uncertain and difficult times. So today we want to shine a light on that work, celebrate it, and to say a massive thank you to all our phenomenal NACCOM members, for delivering hope every single day.
