Beyond the Walls #10 Webinar: Hospitality, justice and innovation

Richard is a co-founder of the Pickwell Foundation, a charity that focuses on addressing the climate emergency and supporting the resettlement of displaced people. It does this principally through environmental grant funding and through the direct support of refugees and asylum seekers resettling locally in North Devon and across the UK. He is a founder and Director of a series of companies and social enterprises, that support the Foundation, focusing on hospitality and social housing provision.

The Foundation has been actively involved in all of the recent government schemes to support the resettlement of refuges, including through Community Sponsorship, Homes for Ukraine and Afghan Resettlement. Some of the current focus of the work of the Foundation includes – the recent establishment of a resettlement hub and an associated model of practice; exploring new models of housing for those recently granted asylum; and leading a national consortium to resettle Afghans through a community support model.

An Anglican by background, Richard is now a Quaker and is particularly interested in how communities of faith can be advocates and agents for social justice. He is on the board of the Environmental Funders Network and is currently completing an MA in Climate Justice. He is a self-confessed politics geek and loves live music, sport, books and pub quizzes.