Amanda Jones started her mission to encourage kindness in 2015.

Footage of the Syrian War on everybody’s television screens moved Amanda to research raise money and then donate to Caravan to the families stuck in Calais, otherwise known as the Calais Jungle.

With 15 years of working in the care and training sector behind her, Amanda had a deep understanding of the trauma that the Victims of war would be going through and wanted to reach out and help.

On return from Calais, Amanda was pleased to have been asked by the local authority if she would support the 23 families being resettled in Shropshire by being a welcome group for Refugee Action.

Amanda embraced this challenge and started Shropshire Supporters Refugees.

8 years later, they have grown to meet need in the rural county that is Shropshire - a landscape that has changed significantly and is now the home to an estimated 2500 people fleeing war, persecution and poverty.

Working closely with the Shropshire Council SSR have grown with the needs of the county.

Amanda has brought the local community with her and describes SSR as a coordinating body- ensuring all offers of support are facilitated, all requests for help responded to.

They bring third sector and statutory bodies together with the people they support and focus on community cohesion and the harnessing of good will.

SSR also raises awareness in the community, provides clothes, shoes, welcome packs and and resources, ESOL, psychosocial activities and practical support.

They are now Migrant Help partners and have just received funding to bring some immigration support into Shropshire.

Amanda will share her thoughts on integration and the challenges, from a community response position and her observations using case studies from her position as someone who needs to be one step ahead of need as navigator of the charity and ready at all times for the next migration crisis.