This December, we’re championing kindness in all its forms through HuffPost UK’s Kindness Advent Calendar. Check back daily (until 24 December) for new stories focusing on how individuals and communities are going above and beyond to help others in their times of need.
In a year where millions of people around the world have been displaced due to conflict, violence and persecution; there have been plenty of unsung heroes on UK soil who have opened their doors (and hearts) to those who have been forced to flee their homes.
Nicola Solomon, who lives in London, is one of them.
The former chief executive of the Society of Authors, along with her husband, a senior Rabbi, has hosted more than a dozen refugees and people seeking asylum through Refugees at Home.
The charity connects people with a spare room to refugees and people seeking asylum who are in need of somewhere to stay – to date, 7,300 people have been supported.
“We’ve had guests who have arrived and slept for two days because they’re finally safe,” Nicola said.
The couple’s first guest was a woman in her fifties. “I remember being nervous that I wouldn’t be able to give everything that was needed in terms of support,” she said.
“When she arrived … I asked where she was staying before [and] she told us she used to buy the longest night bus ticket, go from one end to the other, and then go back the other way.
“It was at that moment when I realised that I didn’t have to provide the perfect hotel. I just had to be better than a night bus.”
In a year where anti-migrant rhetoric has dominated headlines and news stories, the charity’s CEO Lauren Scott said both guests and hosts have been left “alarmed and anxious by what’s been happening this year”.
“Many of our guests come to the UK fleeing prejudice, and to be met with hostility and even threats of violence from the far-right is particularly horrific,” she said.
Scott highlighted however that this “doesn’t represent the majority” and added “we’ve been heartened by how many people have signed up to host as a way to fight back against anti-migrant rhetoric”.
As we look towards 2026, the charity says it is working hard to reach even more people. Demand for hosts is particularly high in areas like Sheffield, Belfast and Stockport.
Guests will stay with hosts for a matter of weeks or months – however long they need. Even when they move on, Nicola said they’ll still pop in occasionally or share updates.
“One of our guests staying with us has just got a job and is able to move into housing, another is a fitness coach and now married,” she said.
“Another has a steady job and is living with a friend. It’s just lovely to see these people getting their lives back on track.”
One of her former guests is Mo.
When Mo’s asylum status was granted, the Home Office gave him just seven days’ notice to leave his accommodation before moving him to Reading.
Mo had been studying in London and the move would’ve meant he would have to pack in his studies. He got in touch with Refugees at Home, who connected him with Nicola, enabling him to finish his course.
Before he came to the UK, Mo was a professional wrestler in Iran. Although he had to give up his career when he left his country, he continued to keep one foot in the ring, coaching a local wrestling team.
Alongside wrestling, his other goal was to become a gas engineer, an ambition he was able to realise thanks to the support of his hosts.
After his studies were extended, he was concerned about how his hosts would react. But he needn’t have worried.
“They’re like family to me,” said Mo. “They said: ‘we’re happy to help and you don’t need to worry. Focus on your exams, and we are not rushing you to move out.’
“The course was tough because English is not my first language; sometimes one exam took me two months to pass, but being with them helped me a lot.”
Mo’s now been in the UK for just over three years and said in that time, he’s “come further in life than any years before it”.
He is now qualified as a plumber and gas engineer and, following his studies, was able to move in with his partner in Kent. The couple have welcomed a baby girl together.
“It wouldn’t have happened without Refugees at Home. My baby is here now; she is called Etti and she is lovely. We are finally all together in our flat and so happy!” he said.
“If I’m in the position in the future where I can help people, like this charity did for me, I will 100% do that.
“In Persian there’s an expression that says: ‘home is everything’. If you have a home, you have the confidence and calmness to focus on your situation and to know your goals. That’s what my hosts provided for me.”
To sign up to become a host with Refugees at Home, visit their website or donate to their winter appeal here. Got a kindness story to share? Please email uklife@huffpost.com with more information.
