Revoke
Revoke is a grassroots organisation that advocates for the rights and welfare of underserved young people, particularly refugees, asylum seekers, and those in the care system. By recognising the brutality of the political, economic, and bureaucratic systems young people battle every day, they take a holistic approach to their care, prioritising compassion, empathy and respect. Their values are rooted in abolition principles and trauma-informed practices.
Revoke is founded by a team with lived experience of migration, racism, learning English as an additional language and the trauma of displacement. This creates a strong connection to the young people they work with, as they aim to give them the tools, education and confidence to advocate for themselves and restore the rights they’ve had revoked.
Their holistic approach is influenced by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, recognising that all needs – basic, physical, psychological and self-fulfilment – have to be addressed in order to heal trauma and allow people to live safe, meaningful lives. Revoke gives young people agency by engaging them with culture, society and politics, and co-designing activities that restore dignity and give a sense of fulfilment. Their work comprises four programme strands: case work and advocacy support, therapeutic care, socially engaged art and political education.
With support through the Shared Ground Fund, Revoke provides a platform for young people to address how social issues such as housing, economics and the climate crisis affect displaced people. They do this through a wide range of partnerships – connecting young people in the migration system to other social movements, training and mentorship.
Mona Bani, Managing Director of Revoke, explains the difference PHF funding has made to the organisation and the young people they support:
“The Paul Hamlyn Foundation grant has given us the security to be able to think and work strategically, rather than constantly reacting from moment to moment and only able to deal with urgent cases because we can’t really be thinking very far ahead. It’s allowed us to actually invest in our political education programme and plan for more long-term themes that we want to explore, for example, highlighting issues around housing for asylum seekers. We have a group of youth advocates who are leading a project campaigning on the conditions of housing for asylum seekers who we’ve been able to work very closely with and are now going to be supporting them to make a documentary film about this issue and their own journeys.”
The grant has also supported Revoke to host political education workshops and showcase the work of Revoke in a lot of influential spaces, allowing them to present their work to other people in the sector and build partnerships. These spaces provide young people with important new platforms to share their experiences and be the voice of the work that Revoke does.
“Having the four-year funding security means that we have been able to really set a vision for the abolitionist and trauma informed framework that we’re working within and actually taking the time to spot themes that arise and build the necessary partnerships to address them and these include partnerships with Economy, Commons Legal, Co-Power and Tipping Point.”
