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Qadeer Kiani got his start in housing with Shelter as a teenage volunteer – he’ll finish at the top having seen through his vision for Arhag with the promise of more to come.

After six years as chair to the London based BME housing association, Kiani is to stand down in October.

By then, Arhag’s purpose-built hub for charities serving migrants and refugees (M&R) will have been running for four months in its new HQ.

The Hub – a totem to the transformation of Arhag under Kiani’s stewardship, is a collaboration between six organisations providing a range of services from medical care to legal advice and help finding work.

Together the six will work from that new HQ in Stratford, East London, from June.

Kiani has spent his entire career in housing, the Hub was his vision for Arhag when he took over in 2013 – and culmination of that lifetime in housing sector.

That teenage Shelter volunteer at Shelter took on major roles in housing for both councils and private organisations while building up a property and consultancy businesses.

or many years has dedicated huge amounts of his own time to Arhag and to Vision Care, an eye care charity for the homeless he helped to found in 2003.

“The plan was to broaden services available to the most needy at a time when alternative services on offer were disappearing,” said Kiani.

“Housing is fundamental to improving lives of society’s most vulnerable, but it’s just the start.

“Arhag has the resources and profile to become an enabler, by providing much more: help getting work, career development, medical assistance, legal advice and research.

“It is fantastic to be bowing out of Arhag and being able to see this vision we had six years ago become a reality,” he said.

Arhag Chief Executive Cedric Boston said: “Qadeer has been a driving force behind the establishment of The Hub, a legacy we hope will improve the lives of our tenants, and migrants and refugees, who benefit from structures he has helped to set up.”

The partnership has already been working closely together on projects funded by the Tampon Tax Fund, which is providing services to BME women across the UK.