MigRefHealth Peterborough Launch

Co-creating asset and place-based approaches to tackling refugee and migrant health exclusion

This project explores the use of community assets by refugee, asylum seekers and migrants in their daily lives. Community assets are fundamental to people’s ability to navigate complex and unstable living situations and include community organisations, food banks, green spaces (e.g. parks, allotments, gardens etc), blue spaces (e.g. lakes, swimming pools, canals etc) and support services (e.g. law and advice centres, drop-ins etc) among others. The project seeks to understand the ways that these groups make use of the different assets within and beyond their local communities to support their health and well-being – focusing in particular on access to accommodation and housing, food and nutrition and services.

The project focuses on three locations – North London, South London and the East of England – to understand the different challenges and opportunities that urban and rural areas provide. We will work in smaller areas within each location in partnership with community organisations and groups to co-identify the assets that provide an essential function for people in order to map the way that they are used. It takes place over three years from 01.02.24 to 01.02.27.

This project is a collaboration between Anglia Ruskin University, Middlesex University, University of Greenwich working with a project team of partners including East of England Local Government Association, GYROS (Great Yarmouth Refugee Outreach and Support), Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign, Queen’s Nursing Institute, Migration Works CIC, Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network and Barnet Citizens. It is funded by UK Research and Innovation and the Arts and Humanities Research Council under the mobilising community assets to tackle health inequalities programme, which aims to improve health through access to culture, nature and community.

The research sites in the East of England are: Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Colchester, Wethersfield, Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Ipswich and Lowestoft.

Join us for the launch for the Peterborough research site on 3rd October when we will be bringing together a range of stakeholders and community organisations to introduce the project.