A message from our Executive Director, Tom Martin

As I reflect on last year I am drawn to next year. To Sanctuary 27. 

2027 will be 20 years since Sheffield became the first City of Sanctuary in the UK.  We plan to celebrate and, crucially, reaffirm our city-wide commitment to being a place of sanctuary through a programme of events, interventions and social action across 2027.  A programme we’re calling Sanctuary 27. 

I speak to next year as I reflect on last year because I see the work encapsulated in these pages as a model of how to live our shared vision. A model of what Sanctuary 27 is calling for.   

Our services that support people to navigate the system of asylum and refuge delivered with care and commitment, with deep listening at their core.  Our systemic change work that raises the voices of the community and does not allow them to be silenced.  Our remarkable volunteer team which is the beating heart of all that we do. Our partnerships with many extraordinary organisations and individuals across Sheffield doing truly remarkable work. 

This is what it takes to provide safe and welcoming spaces in such turbulent times. 

As we set out next year to vocally and joyfully reaffirm our city-wide commitment to sanctuary; we will be doing it from a foundation that is rooted in the day-to-day practice of sanctuary detailed in this report.   

And how strong those roots are. 

With love, 

Tom