Leeds Link is an organisation (currently voluntary) commited to providing ethnic hard-to-reach minorities the chance to connect with the business community, local resources and local agencies.

The initial idea came from one of the founders of Leeds Link, realising that community groups such as Refugees and hard-to-reach communities are under-represented, or not represented at all.

To counter this, a brain-storming session was set up and it became apparent that many of these communities have trust issues with local authorities, agencies and other organisations due to the circumstances in which they left their home country. It was also realised that many of these communities come from a highly educated background, therefore becoming a prime candidate for connection to the business community and agencies.

The conclusion was that hard-to-reach communities require a central point of contact, with whom they can build trust, by attending informal social events with a business edge, and provide comfortable, non intimidating surroundings to learn about the resources available to them.

A side effect of this would be that communities would also be able to connect with their own people, connect with other communities, and increase their knowledge about the country they live in. At the same time as benefitting the community by providing much needed support, guidance and trust, we are building our links within the communities to offer more services at our events.

Whilst we grow, we plan to increase our presence in the local community, and eventually become a fully functioning social enterprise, offering workshops, seminars, and useful advice to these communities, as well as being a main point of contact for help and advice in starting a business, careers, housing and other everyday essential aspects of life. To find out how you can get involved, please email yaseen@leedslink.co.uk, or alternatively call 0113 2622112.