Our Story

People tell us that taking music into UK immigration detention centres is a brilliant idea and ask where it came from. The inspiration, like so many movements, started with one person.

Remembering Helen

Helen Tetlow (1951-2002) was a teacher, musician and activist. Helen spent her life standing up for and empowering refugees. That’s how we met. She also loved music and once packed her sax and went busking round Europe. Helen died suddenly and young. Her partner Peter wanted to use the money she left behind to help the most disadvantaged migrants in the UK. So he gathered Helen’s friends and family, myself included, to start a project. We were, and still are, so inspired by Katia Chornik’s research into the music made by Chilean political prisoners during the dictatorship of Pinochet. We were struck by how music was a way to process, remember, forget or transcend difficult experiences. Maybe my grandparents heard the music of Terezin before they were deported to Auschwitz and their deaths. To honour Helen’s life, we knew we wanted to get music into UK immigration detention centres. And that’s what we’ve been doing ever since 2006.

Who we are today

We’ve grown to a team of 9 staff and 34 artists. All devoted to supporting the mental wellbeing of the people locked in immigration detention and to changing attitudes to migrants in the communities around them. We’re really proud that in 2019, Lamin Joof joined the board as a trustee – an important point in our history as Lamin was held in the immigration detention system when he first got involved in our workshops. If you ever need proof of the power of music to bring strength and resilience to people held in detention, look to Lamin. As the UK has become increasingly hostile to migrants and with recurring episodes such as the Windrush scandal, we believe our work is more important than ever. We need to speak to people like you, who believe in humanity and dignity for people incarcerated in UK immigration detention centres – and we need your support. Alone we cannot free people from detention, but together we can give them some release. We can make sure their songs, their stories, their voices are heard.

Meet the Team

Hear Me Out is a passionate team of musicians, experts, teachers and people with real experience of UK immigration detention. Together, we’re working for the day when all migrants are treated with dignity.

Staff

John Speyer

Director

Johanne Hudson-Lett

Artistic Director

Zoe Burton

Participation and Safeguarding Manager

Lizzie Fort

Programme and Evaluation Manager

Anna Zabow

Communications Manager and Grants Fundraiser

Max Ibrahimi

Support Worker

Shakhana Jey

Administration & Finance Co-ordinator

Kate Fordham

Supporter Development

Phoebe Walker

Freelance Fundraiser

Lead Artists

Anna De Mutiis

Anusha Subramanyam

CeCelia Wickham Anderson

Ceylan Hay

Delroy Murray

Elisha Millard

Jane Munro

Johanne Hudson-Lett

Jonathan Russell

Kensaye Russell

Kevin Campbell Davidson

Kieran Plunkett

Lucky Moyo

Oliver Seager

Olivia White

Roshi Nasehi

Shammi Pithia

Téa Hodžić

Alice Phelps

Michael Goodey

Nathaniel Sesay

Board

Bridget Rennie

Trustee

Clare Scott Booth

Trustee

Hannah Wilkinson

Trustee

Joanna Ridout

Co-Chair

Dr Kai Syng Tan

Trustee

Kaveh Ghandizadeh

Trustee

Lamin Joof

Trustee

Marie-Anne Mackie

Trustee

Sue Lukes

Co-Chair

Vebi Kosumi

Trustee

Funders

With thanks to the support of our funders, including:

If you’d like to chat more about how we use your money, please get in touch.

What we stand for

We believe

In the power of music to promote wellbeing and to help people in immigration detention, and the surrounding communities, make their voices heard.

We respect

People of all cultures, backgrounds and beliefs, both inside and outside of detention centres.

We stand

In solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and are always looking to express this in our work and organisation.

We care

For the mental health of every human being held in a UK detention centre and we’re alive to the realities they face every day.

Join a chorus of music-lovers bringing refuge and release to immigration detainees

If you love music, you know the power it has. When you’re held in UK immigration detention with no end in sight, music can be the difference between keeping or losing your sanity. By giving the joy of playing and writing music, you help those taken away find refuge, strength and release. An escape from the daily mental torture of being locked up inside. That’s the power of music.

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