Emerging BME Social Entrepreneurs

Voice4Change England are working with the School for Social Entrepreneurs on the ECAP project to bring you inspiring stories of young, emerging BME social entrepreneurs and how they hope to change the world!

This week we have speak to Lucinda Hardwick to share her thoughts about the programme with Voice4Change England members.

Graduate of the Week

Lucinda Hardwick has recently established Remedy Partnership after having worked for several years with refugees and asylum seekers in various development roles. After working for the past three and a half years for a major national torture treatment centre, she identified the need for better access to rehabilitative services for those who had been subjected to gross human rights abuses in their country of origin.

Remedy Partnership uses bilingual volunteers drawn from migrant communities to act as ‘Rehabilitation Advocates’. Following certificated training, they go out and provide interpreting and advocacy services for external service providers such as GP surgeries, hospitals and local authorities. The idea is that the service provider and the advocates partner up to improve access to services by marrying up their respective skills and knowledge.

The project is essentially grant funded at present, however Lucinda is aiming to move towards a more self funded business model through selling its services. Lucinda is first to admit that with falling numbers of people coming in to the country fewer resources are being made available for services for refugees and asylum seekers. Public services are also facing significant cuts due to government austerity measures.  Yet, service providers still face demand from those seeking protection in the UK, from refused and destitute people too afraid to return home for fear of persecution as well as settled refugees, migrants and trafficked persons. Many are traumatised, with additional complex issues of immigration and housing as well as facing a significant language barrier.  By working with Remedy's bilingual advocates, providers can reduce the pressure on staff and resources and improve their ability to meet the needs of traumatised minorities, whilst also providing work experience for settled migrants looking to improve their employment prospects.   .

Speaking of the ECAP programme, Lucinda says that it has been very positive to learn about enterprise with others who are also setting out to establish their own projects and organisations:

“It’s helpful to have emotional support. It can be a very lonely thing starting a business on your own, so it is great to be in an environment with other people who get what you are doing and what is going on you can talk to them and share frustrations and successes.” 

More on the SSE programme

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V4CE has been a partner organisation to School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) in delivering ECAP.  ECAP is funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is being delivered by SSE in partnership with V4CE and Advice UK.