During Refugee Week, Riley*, a disability activist and Barnardo’s SEEN Ambassador, explains why he believes we should be more welcoming of different perspectives in the UK.
As an ally to refugees and asylum-seekers, I believe that immigration benefits us collectively as a society. When people come to the UK having experienced a range of different lives, they bring in new, different perspectives that can help us grow.
I know that life can be especially hard for people seeking asylum. Many are struggling to get by on as little as £9.95 a week (Gov.uk, 2026) which is only made more difficult by the fact that most asylum-seekers aren’t able to work. This makes it really hard to survive in this economy, alongside dealing with structural and direct racism.
As a person with disabilities, I have an idea of what that must feel like as ableism has affected me the majority of my life. I know that the effects of different kinds of discrimination can overlap with each other and make the effects of things like racism and ableism even worse for people. That's why I chose to become an ambassador with Barnardo’s SEEN and why I use my position as an ambassador to help challenge these negative perspectives.
Different perspectives make us all more creative
As an artist, I get to see this a lot with the people I meet. In one of my acting classes this year, we had students from all over and a variety of different backgrounds which really helped to increase our creative ability in that class. It made me realise that we’re all at different parts in our own journeys, but this helps us bring our own flavour to pot.
I see this example as a microcosm for how we can collectively benefit from embracing difference – even in politics. I think if we could appreciate different perspectives from different countries, we could work together to make our own country better for everyone – not just better for the top one percent of society.
Everyone deserves to be treated equally
I’m going to close this on a high note (sadly not in my vocal range). Although everything seems like it's going at 100 miles per hour and political polarisation is making things difficult for everyone, I think the best you can do is to be kind when you can since you never know what someone's going through.
I personally believe we haven’t been too kind to asylum seekers as our news demonises them which leaves many having to deal with racism. We all bleed the same blood and regardless of your background, everyone deserves to be treated equally.
*Name has been changed to protect this young person's identity.
Your misogyny isn’t a joke to me
Constant exposure to sexist jokes, harassment, or degrading online content has slowly started to normalise toxic behaviour.
Hannah, one of our young Call It What It Is campaigners, explains how misogyny is shaping how she’s growing up and what she thinks we need to do about it.
Identity and who you are
It can be difficult to pinpoint your identity when it grows and changes as we get older and experience new things.
But having a better sense of it can help give you a foundation to feel more settled and secure in yourself.
Social media and mental health
Using social media can help us stay connected, however, being online for too long, feeling like you’re stuck or ‘doomscrolling’, or seeing intense content can sometimes leave you feeling stressed and overwhelmed.