Arhag Annual Report 2019/2020

FOREWORD BY THE CHAIR 2019/2020 proved to be an extremely challenging year for Arhag with lack of stability at senior management level having an adverse impact on our usual excellent performance. Brexit, the General Election and Covid-19 didn’t help either Arhag nor the sector in general, as these contributed to an uncertain environment and led to some key decisions placed on hold. Despite the challenges above, we managed to achieve some notable successes, and amongst these was our move in July 2019 from the offices in Camden to a state of the art Hub building in Stratford to create a welcoming and pleasant environment where migrants and refugees can access the services they need under one roof. The support we now offer to our clients is extended to include employment, health, immigration advice, campaigning, and research. We have been joined by six other specialist organisations. The move in to our Stratford Hub is part of our ambitious plans whereby Arhag wants to capitalise on its expertise in supporting refugees and migrants, and be seen as a thought leader in this area – the “go to” organisation – become the national voice on refugees and migrants issues and develop our consultancy offering. We were also able to reduce our operating costs as well as bring some much- needed stability to the organisation towards end of the last financial year. Whilst 2019/2020 was challenging, Covid-19 has created the “new normal” which will require organisations to critically analyse and assess their business models. Currently home working with use of mediums such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams appear to be in vogue but how will these impact specialist and people facing organisation such as Arhag in their efforts to deliver value for money, culturally sensitive and customer driven services? The recent rise of the Black Lives Matter movement along with the disproportionately high levels of mortality rates amongst BAME communities only goes to highlight the many inequalities which currently exist in the 21st Century. Therefore, it is even more imperative than ever for Arhag to be the champion for communities such as Migrants and Refuges and drive forward our much vaunted “go to agenda”. We will also need to explore new ways of working and to develop innovative partnerships so that we can continue to place the needs of our residents, communities and staff at the forefront of our new business model. Therefore, partnership working with our Hub colleagues to attract external funding, joint ventures to increase our stock holdings and maximise income streams and seeking opportunities to reduce costs will be the key to success in the next year and beyond. Qadeer Kiani Arhag Board Chair “It is evenmore imperative than ever for Arhag to be the champion for communities such as Migrants and Refugees and drive forward our much vaunted “go to agenda.” 6 Arhag