New project to improve the wellbeing of migrants in Barnet

The research aims to uncover how migrants, asylum seekers and refugees make use of community facilities

Middlesex University academics are working to improve the health and wellbeing of migrants across Barnet as part of a larger project.

The Migref Health project, which is led by Anglia Ruskin University with MDX and the University of Greenwich, aims to uncover and support the services which are vital to the wellbeing of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.

Research is taking place across 12 sites in London and the east of England with individuals from different nationalities and organisations participating in several community forums.

The aim is to uncover how refugees, migrants and asylum seekers make use of community facilities to support their health and wellbeing with a particular focus on access to accommodation and housing, food and nutrition, and other services. 

Community facilities, also called ‘community assets’ in the research, include food banks, green spaces (parks, allotments, gardens etc), blue spaces (lakes, swimming pools, canals) and support services (law and advice centres, drop-ins) among others. 

Barnet is one of the sites in which Middlesex University colleagues Professor Eleonore Kofman, Professor Erminia Colucci and Dr Runa Lazzarino are working with Tamara Joseph from Barnet Citizens, Barnet Council and other local organisations to help people from key communities in the borough such as Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Syria, Ukraine, Iran and Romania. 

A community forum was held recently at Middlesex University’s Hendon campus in which music and poetry was used as a creative means to tap into issues related to health and wellbeing. 

The session was led by a professional poet Anthea Speaks employed by the organisation Hear Me Out, which works extensively in UK asylum hotels and immigration detention centres.

Attendee Bohdanna Kryviak, an academic from Ukraine who left the country following Russia’s invasion in 2022, said: “This is about connections and helping you become involved in the community. This is also a place where you can share your life experiences. It has also been a very interesting way to express yourself.”

Another attendee Oksana Skvorktsova, also from Ukraine, said she found the forums a valuable way of connecting with other people in the community and learning new skills.

MDX graduate Alaa Alibrahim, who is a Health & Wellbeing Navigator from New Citizens Gateway and from Syria originally, was helping at the forum.

“These forums have been a great avenue to give refugees a broad picture of life in the UK and we can discuss what services they use and which ones they need,” said Alaa.

Dorina Poenaru, who founded the charity Romanian Culture and Charity Together (RCCT) and was also helping at the forum, said “from speaking to people at similar events it is clear they are so important for helping to improve mental health”.

"Migrants, asylum seekers and refugees have often left difficult economic situations or fled from persecution and conflict and now face the challenge of adapting to new surroundings and cultures. Making sure they can access vital community services and other assets is so important with helping them to settle and thrive. The project also brings people together and makes them feel part of a community again.”

Eleonore Koffman, Professor of Gender, Migration and Citizenship at Middlesex University

The project, called Co-creating Community Assets and Place-based Approaches to Tackling Refugee and Migrant Health Exclusion, is due to run until 2027.

You can find out more information via the Migref Health website.

Pictures by Mary Humphrey.