This project commenced in Febraury 2024 and was initially funded through Birmingham City Council’s Sanctuary Grant Scheme. The project ended in August 2025.
The role had two distinct strands, providing support to individuals as well as increasing the strategic coordination of activity in the sector. Primarily working with asylum seekers in the city, but also linking with wider migrant populations, building relationships and trust to understand their needs around mental health support, providing referrals to clinical services where appropriate. It also linked with other organisations to offer a regular series of social activities held at local community venues within walking distance of accommodation.
As part of this outreach activity, we engaged in semi-structured interviews with participants to best understand their needs and how services can directly address gaps in provision that is required. This helped to address the strategic barriers faced by migrants when settling in the region and allowed us to direct priorities for our wider network to reduce health inequalities.
The work also supported the activity of the wider sector, specifically through assistance in coordinating the support currently provided by voluntary organisations within hotel accommodation. There is a need to ensure that this activity is better coordinated so that individuals are aware of services offered, preventing duplication and ensure that resources are deployed in the most effective way.
You can find reports produced by the Project by CLICKING THIS LINK.