Five years on from the Grenfell Tower fire

Today feels very heavy. I’m sure all of us have seen at least one article or tweet or comment today that takes us back to that horrible night and following day when the smoke bellowed across West London. 72 people lost their lives, and it is the stories from the families, the survivors, neighbours and communities who loved and lost those 72 people and continue to feel the impact of that night, that still hits the hardest.

I wasn’t there. I was in London — but I wasn’t “at Grenfell”. I was one of the millions of us who watched from a distance, and have continued to watch as the chaos and confusion unfurled. Many of my friends and colleagues were there, however. Peers from across the voluntary sector, the local community and further afield rushed in to support a huge humanitarian emergency in the heart of the capital. I think about that a lot.

In my role as the Director of the Emergencies Partnership, the 14 June 2017 is a date that is etched in my mind. It was Manchester Arena, Grenfell Tower and the London terror attacks of that year, that were the catalyst for the creation of the Emergencies Partnership. The findings from the Charity Commission were clear; the good will of the voluntary sector organisations and their individual action was not enough. The chaos, confusion and additional trauma for the people impacted was as a result of a lack of understanding, coordination and connectivity between those trying to help and the communities themselves.

Our humble beginnings are grounded in a need to learn, and evolve.

The journey of our partnership has been a twisty one since that day… an emotional and reflective start, as many of the founding partners identified lessons of what could have, should have, but ultimately didn’t happen for the Grenfell community. A few years of reflecting, and aligning the views, experiences and opinions of 15 organisations took us to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, when on a totally different scale and nature, communities across the UK (not to mention, the globe) faced a new major shock to our lives.

The years that have followed since, have seen our partnership grow to a rich and bubbling network of networks. Over 200 organisations, many with trusted connections into hundreds or possibly thousands of local community groups now form the Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership. Traditional emergency responders, local communities of interest, large national charities and small regional organisations who are united in the principle that together, we can and will do better for the communities at risk of or impacted by major emergencies.

I feel humble today, reading about how communities feel so little has changed in these five years. The unanswered questions of accountability, of justice, of safety and security for other families across the UK who face the same risks as those families who lived in Grenfell Tower remain unresolved, and devastating. But at the same time, I also see glimmers of hope, I see commitment and ownership from across the voluntary and community sector to improve, to never forget what happened in Kensington that day and in the many months since, and to use it as the reason to do better.

I want to acknowledge and thank our partners, for dedicating their time, expertise and passion to learning from the mistakes made at Grenfell — and channelling that into the great work we do together. Secondly, I want to recognise the need to create the space for the residual grief and trauma that the families impacted, and those who have tried to support this tragedy and the other heinous events have and continue to suffer. Finally, if you can — I encourage us to talk about it, reach out to our peers and partners in the voluntary sector, in business, in local and national government, and use this anniversary as a reminder and motivator for why our work is so important. We aren’t just on a treadmill here, we’re striving to make a difference for the individuals and families whose paths are thwarted by tragedies like Grenfell, and we are doing it. It takes time, but we really are.

In memory of all those who died, and those who live with that memory forever.