‘It’s helping me build my future’: empowering migrant and refugee families in a London borough of sanctuary

The panel received training at a local community centre on how to conduct interviews and public speaking. Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian

On a cold morning in the heart of London, recently arrived refugees and more established migrants gather in a community centre. Their mission? To decide how £500,000 in funding will be used to support people like them.

The initiative is part of the Borough of Sanctuary grants programme, which takes the government’s commitment to devolution a step further, using it to empower migrants and refugees.