‘Our Annual Conference 2025 | Marking 10 years of solidarity in action through the No Accommodation Network’ 

Date: Wednesday April 9th 2025 

Venue: Manchester (nearest station is Manchester Victoria)

Timing: Arrival from 9.30am, for a 10am start. The conference will end at 4pm. 

Workshops: More information about the workshops will be available in February. Attendees will be able to choose which ones to attend. Workshops will run in the morning and afternoon.  

Refreshments: Lunch and refreshments will be provided. 

Tickets: £45 per person for NACCOM members; £90 per person for non-members (TBC) 

Subsidised tickets: We have a small number of subsidies to provide free tickets for people with lived experience and for organisations who feel the cost would be a barrier to them being able to attend. Please contact us on [email protected] or call 0161 706 0185 for further information about accessing this. 

About the conference 

In April 2025, we invite you to celebrate with us as we mark ten years of the No Accommodation Network at our Annual Conference.  

NACCOM was founded as a charity in 2015, following almost ten years as an informal network. The conference will bring together members, volunteers, supporters, allies and many others who have helped to shape our network into the powerful force for change that it is today. 

Attendees will hear from frontline charity leaders, people with lived experience, and other experts and advocates from across the homelessness and refugee sectors, as we look back on NACCOM’s impact over the past decade, and mobilise towards a future free from destitution and homelessness for those in the asylum and immigration system. As part of this, we’ll be launching the start of a process to co-design NACCOM’s next strategy and a public campaign to mark our 20th anniversary as a network in 2026. 

Attendees will also have the opportunity to share good practice, expertise and strategies encompassing both policy and practice through a range of interactive workshops, presentations and panel discussions.  

Keynote speech: ‘Imagining freedom: moving away from identity politics and towards communities of solidarity’, with Martha Awojobi

Our inspirational keynote speaker this year will be Martha Awojob, CEO of JMB Consulting, an award-winning fundraiser, and curator of Uncharitable (formerly #BAMEOnline). Through her work, Martha supports the charity sector to move beyond tokenistic and performative diversity gestures and grapple with the legacy of racism, imperialism and colonialism.

Panel discussion: What next? 10 years on: Reflections on NACCOM’s vision to end destitution for people in the asylum and immigration system

We’re delighted to welcome an exciting panel to reflect on our ten-year milestone, and look ahead to what the future of the charity might look like. In a discussion chaired by Shukry Adan, NACCOM trustee, we’ll be joined by;

  • Julian Prior, Consultant, former CEO of Action Foundation and founder Chair of NACCOM
  • Bonnie Williams, CEO, Housing Justice
  • Nico Ndlovu, NACCOM Community Researcher
  • Sophie Wickham, Executive Director, AFRIL
  • Jennie Corbett, Strategy Principal – Asylum and Migration, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Workshops

Housing has always been at the core of the NACCOM network, with approximately 50% of our accommodation schemes involved in some form of housing provision.

This workshop will provide a space to explore the different approaches taking place across the network for the provision and management of housing for both people seeking asylum, other migrants with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), or for refugees and others with the right to rent.

Join us to hear from NACCOM members with experience in this area, and for an extended Q&A to explore any topic relating to setting up and managing housing schemes.

Receiving a grant of refugee status should be a moment of joy and relief, but for many, this can quickly turn into uncertainty and even crisis, as people are faced with the threat of homelessness when their asylum support is stopped.

Over the past few years refugee homelessness has risen dramatically, exacerbated by the housing crisis. This workshop will provide a space to explore approaches taking place across the network to support people with refugee status to avoid homelessness as they move on from asylum accommodation and rebuild their lives.

This interactive workshop will feature presentations and discussion with NACCOM members who provide refugee move-on support, from pre-tenancy training to delivering a lodging scheme.

With the Labour Government now firmly established in office, and following the introduction of their flagship piece of immigration legislation – the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill – what are Labour’s priorities for reform of the UK asylum and immigration system, and how can voluntary sector organisations, including those in devolved nations, effectively mobilise and push for policy change? In this workshop we’ll explore the current political context, and opportunities and challenges in key policy areas to prevent and end migrant and refugee destitution and homelessness.

The session will look at the national and devolved contexts, and how frontline organisations interested or involved in influencing and campaigning work can impactfully collaborate

The violent riots of Summer 2024 highlighted deep-rooted issues of division in communities across the UK.

Who is Your Neighbour? (WiYN?) is a South Yorkshire-based charity that facilitates meaningful dialogues on challenging topics like race, immigration and cultural change, helping to bridge divides through empathy and curiosity. It offers training, resources and support to share valuable lessons learned from its work in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield, where its conversations have proven effective in building resilience against divisive narratives and fostering more inclusive communities.

This workshop is an opportunity to learn about WiYN?’s work, how it can create lasting change and the training opportunities available.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, traditional communal night shelters were a key component of many NACCOM members’ accommodation offer to people seeking asylum with NRPF.

This workshop will explore how the provision of night shelters and other forms of emergency accommodation has evolved in a post-Covid-19 environment.

We’ll hear how three different projects have evolved and adapted and discuss the ongoing role and place for night shelters in meeting the immediate needs of those either left homeless due to the housing crisis or their NRPF status.

This workshop will explore practical strategies for improving access to quality immigration advice and justice. Speakers will share insights on how to navigate IAA accreditation, develop and scale advice services, and ensure that the advice we provide is high-quality. We will also discuss how we can collectively respond to the challenging context of the ongoing legal aid crisis and the sharp rise of appellants without legal representation.

What does a welcoming local community look like? Momentum is building around calls to move to a decentralised asylum accommodation system, and with it comes an opportunity to think about how cities, regions and communities receive people who are seeking asylum. How can people be supported to settle and make homes for themselves in our communities? What services and infrastructure is needed? What is the role of NACCOM member organisations? And how do we ensure people with lived experience are central to answering these questions?

In this interactive workshop we will come together to think imaginatively and creatively about what a better welcome for people seeking sanctuary in our local areas can – and should – look like.

Is it possible to design destitution out of the asylum and immigration system for good?

This workshop will be a chance to continue the reflections and discussions from the earlier panel, not just about NACCOM’s role in ending homelessness and destitution, but in how different organisations can play a role in our collective eco-system.

The workshop will include discussions on working with refugees and those with No Recourse to Public Funds, and people who are undocumented or have unclear status.