NACCOM members, supporters and partners came together in Manchester on Wednesday 9th April 2025 for a special Annual Conference marking ten years of solidarity in action. NACCOM (which stands for the No Accommodation Network) was founded as a charity in 2015, following almost ten years as an informal network.
At Boaz, we’re proud to be part of this amazing network of organisations working together to end destitution in the asylum and immigration systems. Coming away from the conference, we were reminded afresh that we are stronger together than we are apart.
The one-day event was an opportunity to connect with others in the sector, but also to learn about good practice and share knowledge. As Martha Awojobi commented in her keynote speech, “solidarity means our struggles are all interwoven and so we should be too.”
Delegates from Boaz participated in the breadth of workshops on offer throughout the day. The topics covered included: making space to talk about troubling subjects, designing more welcoming communities, housing provision across the network, refugee move-on, the justice gap and expanding access to immigration advice, the landscape under Labour, and rethinking emergency accommodation.
One of the highlights of the day included the keynote speech by Martha Awojobi, titled: ‘Imagining freedom: moving away from identity politics and towards communities of solidarity.’ In her speech Martha unpacked the origins of whiteness as “a political tool first used to break bonds of solidarity between oppressed people.” (Emma Dabiri). She went on to address how lived experience has become a buzzword phrase in our sector, often divorced from its original meaning:
"Lived experience is not an exercise in diversity. It is an exercise in solidarity [...] We need to develop an anti-oppression practice and politics rooted in the knowledge of people with this experience."
Later in the day, we also heard a panel discussion on what’s next for NACCOM 10 years on, including reflections on the vision to end destitution in the asylum and immigration systems. The panel was chaired by Shukry Adan (NACCOM Trustee) and featured Julian Prior (Consultant, former CEO of Action Foundation and founder Chair of NACCOM), Bonnie Williams (CEO of Housing Justice), Nico Ndlovu (NACCOM Community Researcher), Sophie Wickham (Executive Director at AFRIL) and Jennie Corbett (Strategy Principal - Asylum and Migration, Greater Manchester Combined Authority).
The conference concluded with a speech from NACCOM’s founder (and ours!), Dave Smith, and a performance from the wonderful WAST (Women Asylum Seekers Together) choir.
