Following our community consultation on lived experiences of the legal aid crisis, we hosted an event for our referral partners on how they can support people to navigate the crisis in immigration advice, and how we can stand up to fight for better access to justice.

Ryan, solicitor at GMIAU, talked people through the expectations of lawyers, the importance of working as a team, and how to hold lawyers to account and challenge bad practice.

Maggy, from Right to Remain, spoke about using the Toolkit - an invaluable resource to empower people with legal knowledge, whether or not people have access to a solicitor. Maggy explained how organisations can use the Toolkit to stand in solidarity and provide legal support without risking giving unregulated immigration advice.

Finally, we heard from Nanou and Frances, community organisers from Migrants Organise, who had travelled from London to talk about their "Access to Justice" campaign. It was an important reminder that the legal aid crisis that denies people access to justice and forces people into destitution is not inevitable and that change is possible.

With 25 participants from across our referral network, there was space for questions, discussion and connection - and, as ever, we enjoyed home-cooked food from Growing Together Levenshulme chefs.

The talks were well-received, with one participant telling us: "This is what we've been waiting for!" Thank you to our amazing speakers for such a great event!

As follow up, we've created a webpage with resources connected to the event for organisations to fight back against the legal aid crisis.