Supporting mental health outcomes for refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants (360G-ThriveLDN-396)

“Before coming here I was so alone. I didn’t want to go out, talk with people. But since I’ve been here, my life has completely changed. They know what they are doing” From experience we know mental health is a serious problem for refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants. This is backed up by wider studies e.g. MIND that indicate higher rates of depression and anxiety for refugees and asylum seekers compared to the national population. To address this we are seeking funding to provide intensive support to 50 of the most vulnerable individuals living in London to make a real difference to their mental health and quality of life. We will participate in all or some of the following activities: 1. Mentoring - matching individuals with volunteer mentors who will provide one-to-one emotional and practical support through friendly meetings e.g. in cafes and familiarisation outings around the neighbourhood. 2. Group-work - bi-weekly activities according to their specific needs to support their well-being, resilience and connections e.g. voice group, English classes, craft sewing group and walking group. 3. Specialist support for survivors of gender-based violence and/or trafficking through three peer support groups that meet bi-weekly at our office and in West and South London. Women decide content and activities according to their needs e.g. mindfulness or voice coaching workshops. We will use an overall M&E framework and each individual will have their own personal plan to reflect and review. In addition to simple quantitative indicators e.g. number of sessions attended we will track progress against the following outcomes and indicators: • Improved mental health and wellbeing – members feeling healthier, more motivated and positive with hope for the future, laughing more; • Development of resilience and coping mechanisms – members feeling stronger and more capable, more confident, greater sense of self-esteem, able to handle problems and challenges; • Growth in meaningful connections with wider community - members being more open to people, having new relationships and friendships. We will track participant progress from a base-line using the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. We will also use simple questionnaires for specific events and sessions. With the relevant permissions\safeguarding in place we will use film\photography to creatively document personal and group journeys. We have robust systems to recruit suitable volunteers for the project. The project will take place over a period of nine months from June 2020 to March 2021.