Shared Sunderland

BME groups remain underrepresented in leadership positions due to a lack of opportunities, discrimination, and the absence of role models. Leadership comes in all forms and shapes and anyone can be a leader. Learning how to become a good leader can greatly impact not only your life but your community, your team at work, or your organisation. With the Shared Sunderland project, we are dedicated to making change by supporting the BME community in accessing leadership training, voluntary opportunities, and taking leadership roles in Sunderland.

Partnership organisations

ICOS – came to being in July 2009, it has always focused on bringing individuals and communities together. While we have a particularly strong relationship with the local Eastern European community, we are currently working with people from diverse countries. ICOS works with Black and Minority Ethnic people in Sunderland and surrounding areas, focusing on helping those with limited access to information, networks and opportunities.

SBIC – serving the local community for the past 19 years- it is an Asylum, Refugee, BME-focused charity that addresses issues such as integration, poverty, poor education, poor health, lack of employment and enterprise opportunities for BME people within the City of Sunderland through activities including: financial inclusion, health, education, well-being and equal opportunities.

New Horizon – dedicated African group with many years of experience of providing holistic support to the African community living in Sunderland, including asylum seekers and refugees. It was set up by ex-asylum seeker/refugees to promote co-operation and participatory democracy, self-determination, and change the balance of power. It also provides advice and training

Project Goals

  • Improved wellbeing and access to services, including the establishment of free immigration advice in the city for the first time.
  • Developed group of leaders from migrant, Black and minority communities, which disrupts patterns of racialised power in the city.
  • Public and voluntary services in Sunderland are more inclusive and responsive to the specific needs of migrants.
  • Increased recognition and understanding around issues of racial justice in Sunderland

What we want to do?

  • Advice, guidance and support services will be provided across the three organisations, in the areas of housing, benefits and immigration.
  • Staff members of partnering organisations will participate in OISC training to become the first provider of free immigration advice in Sunderland.
  • Community Leadership Development – we will support BME community to take up leadership roles in the city.
  • Advocacy and influencing – we will support statutory authorities to understand the needs of, and opportunities brought by migrant, Black and minoritised communities in Sunderland

Why Shared Sunderland project is so important?

  • Awareness of the availability of services needs to be raised among BME community.
  • Project will tackle inequalities that create barriers for people from minority communities in Sunderland from taking part in leadership roles.
  • There are very few organisations supporting people who have migrated to Sunderland and there is no free immigration advice provision in the city.
  • Migration organisations in the city report that newcomers rarely feel welcome and many refugees leave when they secure their legal status.

Project Updates

The Shared Sunderland Project (2022–2025), which was led International Community Organisation of Sunderland (ICOS), Sunderland Bangladesh International Centre (SBIC), and New Horizon (NH), was designed to empower migrant communities in Sunderland. Through various initiatives, it provided direct support, influenced public policy, and fostered leadership within these communities.

  1. One-to-One Advice and Advocacy
    • Provided guidance on housing, benefits, immigration (Level 1 regulated), and access to services to 366 individuals.
    • Indirectly benefited many others, including household members.
    • The project focused on marginalized groups, such as asylum seekers, refugees, and survivors of domestic abuse.
    • 78 were in need of immigration advice and support, including passport applications. 60 needed support with housing (including registrations with housing associations, presenting to the council as homeless and general advice on housing, such as disrepair. 100 needed support with benefits, including applying for benefits and understanding decisions, as well as reviews and appeals 17 needed support with accessing the health service, e.g., GP registrations. 54 needed support with managing their universal credit account due to language barriers and / or lack of access to devices or low IT skills. 56 were facing other problems, such as domestic abuse, school registration.
    • This service, while resource-intensive, made a significant difference in people’s lives:

-64% (228 individuals) have reported improved wellbeing

-50% (182 individuals) have reported improved housing situation

-54% (197 individuals) have reported improved financial situation

-6% (19) have reported that their immigration issue has been resolved.

  1. Engagement with Public and Non-Profit Organisations
    • Worked to make institutions more inclusive and migrant-friendly.
    • Addressed issues like housing access, cost of living, and antiracism in schools.
    • Partnered with Tyne and Wear Citizens (TWIC) and Citizens UK for national and local campaigns.
    • Richard Avenue Primary School and Thornhill School were engaged in adopting the National Education Union’s Antiracism Charter.
    • Delivered awareness sessions on Asian, Black African, and Eastern European migrant communities, influencing VCSE and public sector organisations.

 

  1. Building Sustainable Change & Community Representation
    • Formed a Project Steering Group (PSG) with 8 migrant leaders from diverse backgrounds.
    • Established a Sunderland Hub of TWIC, allowing migrant voices to reach public sector bodies.
    • Contributed to the mayoral pledge to increase affordable and social housing.
    • Successfully influenced regional education policies, including the Racial Justice in Education Campaign, which became a priority campaign for TWIC.

 

  1. Leadership and Community Engagement
    • Engaged 64 individuals in leadership activities such as enterprise training, voter registration, environmental activism, and local governance.
    • Encouraged community members to pursue roles as school governors, councillors, and election candidates.
    • Helped increase confidence and participation in formal and informal leadership roles.
    • A total of 64 clients have taken part in leadership activities (many but not all of them have also benefited from advice) Out of this number 39 people have reported accomplishing goals and achievements in leadership. A total of 16 individuals who took part in the leadership progressed into formal leadership positions as direct result of participation.
    • Additionally, 45 people of them have indicated that they felt more confident pursuing their leadership interests following taking part in the programme.

 

  1. Microgrants for Local Initiatives
    • Provided five projects (three organisations) with funding to enhance community leadership and service delivery.
    • The grant-making process was developed with PSG members, further fostering leadership skills.

 

  1. Expansion of Immigration Advice Services
    • ICOS became OISC/IAA-registered in April 2023, enabling Level 1 immigration advice.
    • As of January 2025, one staff member and one volunteer are providing immigration support, with two additional staff members training for certification by late summer 2025.
    • SBIC and NH are working towards OISC/IAA registration, with NH staff aiming for certification in spring 2025.
    • Partnered with organisations like Migrant Help and the North East Law Centre to meet the demand for immigration support, particularly for EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) applications and E-visas.

 

  1. Strengthening Partnerships
    • Collaborated with TWIC, North East Law Centre, Migrant Help, Together for Children, Sunderland City Council, The Phoenix Way, and the North East Antiracism Coalition (formed after the 2024 racist riots).

The Shared Sunderland project has been instrumental in supporting migrant communities by providing advice, advocacy, leadership development, and policy influence. Despite challenges, it has built sustainable structures that continue beyond its funding period, creating a lasting impact on inclusion, local policy, and migrant empowerment in Sunderland.

We are grateful to our funder- Paul Hamlyn Foundation for their support.

Case studies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZNL6-ZB70A (several case studies on leadership)

https://icos.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Shared-Sunderland-Leadership-Case-study-Chompa.pdf

https://icos.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Shared-Sunderland-case-study-Amez.pdf

https://icos.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Alina-Shared-Sunderland-Case-Study.pdf

https://icos.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Shared-Sunderland-case-study-Semira.pdf

https://icos.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Maciej-Case-Study-Shared-Sunderland.pdf

 

Follow ICOS and its partner organisations Sunderland Bangladesh International Centre and New Horizon Sunderland to see what support you can get from Shared Sunderland Team.

Meet the Shared Sunderland team

Agnieszka Cielecka (ICOS – Support Worker)

Hello, my name is Agnieszka Cielecka and I work for ICOS on the Shared Sunderland project as a project worker. I am supporting people with barriers such as English language, cultural barriers, low income, access to information, lack of self-confidence, isolation, loneliness, and limited access to basic services such as housing and welfare.

I am giving advice and guidance in the area of benefits:

  • applying for benefits
  • benefits sanctions
  • appealing a benefit decision
  • overpayment and wrongly calculated payments
  • access to information and understanding of how benefits work
  • eligibility for different benefits

I also can support you with looking for a place to live, applying for social housing, but also with other problems related to housing and renting:

  • booking appointments for repairs
  • communication with the landlord
  • council tax
  • moving your bills to a new address
  • bills for energy
  • homelessness
  • evictions
  • neighbour antisocial behaviour
  • discrimination

If you think that you could benefit from my help, I could help you with problems that you can’t overcome, or you just simply have a question, please contact me by phone at 07563357064 or email at agnieszka.cielecka@icos.org.uk you can also drop me a message on WhatsApp – Agnieszka Cielecka ICOS.

My help is completely free!!