Irina's Story

The colourful Coin Street neighbourhood centre is not located in the ward I represent as councillor, not even in my Borough, but its impact spreads far beyond administrative boundaries. Residents from Lambeth, Southwark and beyond tell me how much Coin Street has changed their lives for the better: from providing truly beautiful housing to organising children’s events and music festivals.

The neighbourhood centre has, for the last 40 years, been a hub for the local community. This community is also my community. It has welcomed me, an immigrant and single parent whose father and grandmother were refugees, with open arms. It has given me the opportunity to work in a job I love, find new friends and build a home for my family. It wasn’t plain sailing: it took more than 100 applications to land a job in the city.

Combining long hours working as a lawyer with caring for my daughter was hard. Like all newcomers, I had to navigate a different culture and language, and keep an open mind even if I was baffled by some of the things I saw. Being one of few women in my organisation sometimes felt lonely, and childcare cost and rent gobbled up the largest chunk of my income. Despite these hurdles, I can honestly say I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in the world. 

I thought about ways of giving back to London what it had afforded me. Volunteering for refugees seemed like an obvious choice. Hosting two women from Ethiopia for four years was a really rewarding experience not only for me, but also for my then teenage daughter – the realisation just how incredibly lucky we were to live in peace and relative prosperity, with running water and – despite all its shortcomings – a free health care system. 

After 20 years in the city, it was time for a change: in 2019, I was elected to represent the citizens of London in the European Parliament and served as Vice Chair of the human rights committee. Many of the stories I heard there echoed those of refugees in London, people who had fled oppression and wars and were forced to rebuild their lives from scratch. For them, support in their new local communities is not just a matter of material survival, but a mental and emotional lifeline too.   

Now, as a councillor, I see first-hand how this community has come under pressure from the cost-of-living crisis, unaffordable housing and the encroachment of office towers all around them. Few families with children, and even fewer key workers, can still afford to live here.

Schools and surgeries are closing and replaced with bars and restaurants for tourists. Among the remaining residents, income inequality is huge and growing. Lots of challenges we can only tackle if we work together, across all boundaries.   

The strength of this community lies in its diversity. Coin Street embodies this strength: bringing together local people, organisations and ideas, it creates a powerful voice for all of us. Most of all, it gives a sense of hope and joy. I am so proud to be part of this community.