The Prince's Trust with The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial
Fund, 2003
This report aims to assess ways in which voluntary organisations
can work better with young refugees to enrich their self
development and improve their skills. Research was conducted
with nearly 200 refugees aged 14 to 30, through face-to-face
interviews, two discussion groups and 'life maps' of 10
refugees.
All of the refugees in the study saw education and qualifications
as vital to success; many wanted qualifications that would
allow them to do particular jobs. Lack of education, language
difficulties and a lack of a support network were seen as
the greatest barriers to their integration into British
society. Of those interviewed 54% thought their spoken English
was 'good', 42% felt their standard of reading English was
'good' and only 13% were 'very confident' in writing English.
Literacy is important in this context especially because
the asylum process involves a lot of paperwork. Accordingly,
the forms of help cited by those interviewed as most useful
were: help with their English, help getting into school
or college, and opportunities to spend more time with their
peers. The report says schools and colleges act as focal
points in getting these young people more settled in Britain
and helping them to integrate better in society; this is
important as young refugees are at high risk of long-term
social exclusion.
The report says that the ways in which charitable organisations
can help young refugees include making sure refugees are
not living in unacceptable accommodation and that minors
are not living alone. In addition volunteers can help with
mentoring, delivery of arts and sports-based initiatives,
and outreach programmes including basic skills and health
'advice days', as well as inter-community initiatives.
To download the full report, visit
www.princes-trust.org.uk
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