The work doesn’t pause

March 30, 2026

Our Director Dami Makinde reflects on leadership, transition and the next phase of Justice Together.

During maternity leave, I didn’t expect to step into leadership in the way that I did. I was ready to come back and ease myself into work again, to reconnect with colleagues, pick up where I left off, and find a rhythm between work and home.

However, within a short space of time, things shifted. Our former Director Hazel stepped down, and I found myself moving into the role of Director of Justice Together. There wasn’t a long runway into it. It felt more like stepping into something already in motion. In many ways, that is what this whole period has been: a constant process of adjusting, learning, and trying to lead with care in the middle of change.

Returning from maternity leave into this role also meant learning that I had to show up as my whole self. I could not separate leadership from motherhood, nor did I want to. I am still figuring out what that balance looks like, but I have come to understand that stepping into leadership does not require me to compromise that part of who I am.

Taking on this role has not just been a personal transition: it has come at a time where Justice Together itself is shifting. The significant phase of open grant rounds is over. The work we have supported over the past few years has been vital. It has strengthened organisations, enabled collaboration, and helped to build a more connected and resilient sector. Now we are in a different moment. We are asking ourselves what the next three to four years of Justice Together need to be.

For me, increasingly, the answer points towards being more visible, more intentional, and bolder in how we contribute to influencing change. That does not mean moving away from what we have built. If anything, it means using what we have learned, and the relationships we have developed, to play a stronger role in shaping the wider system.

The state of immigration advice

One of the most grounding parts of stepping into this role has been listening, really listening, to our grant partners and others across the sector. The immigration advice sector is under more pressure than ever. There are simply not enough funders supporting this work, despite how critical it is. Organisations are competing for limited funding, often in ways that feel unsustainable and disheartening.

At the same time, there are vast areas of the country where access to good-quality immigration advice is incredibly limited. In parts of the north of England, in Wales and in Northern Ireland, people are navigating complex and life-altering immigration issues without the support they need. We know the consequences of that. Poor or absent advice does not just delay outcomes. It can fundamentally shape people’s futures and their ability to access their rights.

So while we talk about influencing and systems change, I have been reminded again and again that advice remains a critical foundation. It is not secondary work. It is essential infrastructure.

The future of Justice Together

As we shape the next phase of Justice Together, one of the tensions we are holding is how to be more impactful in influencing change, whilst not losing sight of the importance of advice. Strong influencing requires strong evidence, strong organisations, and strong connections to lived experience. Much of that sits within the advice sector.

At our recent team strategy discussions, we spent time grappling with what it means for Justice Together to step more fully into this space. Not just as a funder, but as a more active contributor to shaping the narrative, supporting coordination, and amplifying what is already happening across the sector.

We are still scoping, mapping, and testing what this could look like in practice. At times, that uncertainty has felt uncomfortable. Stepping into leadership while still figuring things out is not always easy. But what we do know is that the need is there, and that standing still is not an option.

There is something both daunting and clarifying about this moment. The challenges are significant. Services are underfunded. The wider environment is increasingly hostile. The system continues to place people in precarious and unjust situations. Yet it also sharpens our sense of purpose.

The road ahead for Justice Together is not a short one. It will require patience, collaboration, and a willingness to sit with complexity. There will be difficult decisions, and no doubt times when progress feels slow. But it is work that matters.

In moments like this, I remind myself that Martin Luther King said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice”. Right now, that arc can feel distant, but this is the work of continuing to bend it, together.