Keith Ruffles travelled across Canada to explore how rural communities are using migration to reverse population decline. Over five weeks, he visited six towns taking part in the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP), meeting with local coordinators, federal agencies, and migrants like Natalia and Mohammad, who shared their experiences of settling in Canada. In this blog, Keith reflects on what the UK could learn from Canada’s community-driven approach to migration, and how the Fellowship gave him the time, space, and connection to explore these issues in depth.
Patrick Vernon marked Windrush Day with a tribute at Hackney Council’s official event, where he led a one-minute silence in memory of the Windrush Pioneers. He also wrote a powerful reflection for Windrush100.
Sue Sharples travelled to the USA and Canada to explore new approaches to preventing sexual harm among adults with a learning disability – including linking self-advocacy skills to sexual rights education and using trauma-informed practice. Since returning, she has co-authored a training pack for social care staff and worked with learning disabled colleagues in Lancashire to develop a new sexual self-advocacy resource. Grounded in the belief that people should be their own first line of defence, it’s already helping people feel safer, better informed, and more in control.
I grew up without the words to talk about suicide – and didn’t speak about my own bereavement until my forties. My Fellowship set me on a path to change that, taking me to India and Canada to explore suicide prevention in communities like my own. Since then, I’ve joined a global network of preventionists, trained in early intervention, and started sharing what I’ve learned – from working with therapists to leading workshops with young people to help open up conversations.
A BBC debate on the Assisted Dying Bill pushed me out of my depth – but my Churchill Fellowship had prepared me to feel the fear and do it because. What began as a modest research plan became a five-week tour across the USA, connecting with trauma institutes, service providers and experts. The relationships I built continue to shape my work today, including through Unique Connections – our growing effort to build a social care system grounded in love, belonging, and equity for people with intellectual disabilities.
