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Publications

Here follows a list of Refugee Action's publications and audio-visual resources.

For more information or to request a copy of a publication please contact our Communications office on 020 7654 7705 or e-mail publications@refugee-action.org.uk

Most publications cost £5 to cover printing and postage costs. Maternity videos are £20 (incl postage and package).

 

(For advice leaflets and information go to asylum downloads)

 
General

Refugee Action Annual Report 2008-09

Annual report giving comprehensive details of the agency's work in its 13 offices across England and full financial report for the period Apr 1 2008 to March 31 2009.

Refugee Action Annual Report 2008-09

 

Destitution in the asylum system in Leicester

This report is part of ongoing work by Leicester Refugee And Asylum Seekers' Voluntary Sector Forum of which Refugee Action is a member to monitor the extent of destitution amongst asylum seekers and refugees in Leicester.

This is the fourth report on the issue and it set out the findings of a survey of asylum seekers and refugees carried out by members of the Forum in February and March 2009.

 

Including the excluded

A report evaluating and documenting Refugee Action's community development work 200-2008 and Client feedback report. (Click on title to download)

 

The Gateway Good Practice Guide

September 2008

This guide is an essential reference document for all staff within statutory, voluntary and community organisations involved with the setting up or early
stages of operating Gateway Protection Programmes.

It offers an insight into the complexities of co-ordinating and providing support services to a very unique group of refugees from the two leading
voluntary sector organisations that have been involved since the programme began in 2004.

Gateway Good Practice Guide 2008

 

Destitution in the asylum system in Leicester

June 2008

Commissioned by the Leicester Forum and co-ordinated by Refugee Action, this report shows that destitute asylum seekers in Leicester are being forced to sleep on the streets or rely on charities and friends for shelter.

The forum makes a number of recommendations to local and national government policy-makers and the voluntary and community sector in Leicester to try to tackle this crisis.

Destitution in the asylum system in Leicester

 

Refugee Action Annual Report 2006-07

Annual report giving comprehensive details of the agency's work in its 13 offices across England and full financial report for the period Apr 1 2006 to March 31 2007.

Refugee Action Annual Report 2006-07

 

The Destitution Trap: Research into destitution among refused asylum seekers in the UK

November 2006

National research commissioned by Refuge Action in January 2006 to explore the causes and effects of destitution among refused asylum seekers in the UK. The disturbing findings raise urgent questions about whether current government policy is sustainable. Essential reading for anyone with an interest in the future of the asylum system (130 pages).

The Destitution Trap: Asylum's untold story is a Briefing, based on the research, giving Refugee Action's recommendations for change (18 pages)

Full report (1.8mb)
Briefing (1mb)
Executive Summary and Recommendations
Request hard copies from Refugee Action.

 

Agency Report 2006

This report gives a summary of all Refugee Action's projects around the UK. It includes a selection of case studies from clients, staff and volunteers, showing how our work helps refugees and asylum seekers to build new lives.

 

Mobiles, Money and Mayhem: The facts and fibs about asylum

The Refugee Awareness Project has produced a myth-busting pocket guide which aims to put information at people’s fingertips so they can influence others. For real copies email nationalrap@refugee-action.org.uk or call 020 7654 0673 or download.

mobiles, money and mayhem national booklet

 

Working Together: Views of our Stakeholders

July 2006

This research, carried out by independent consultants Michael Bell Associates, shows a high level of satisfaction with Refugee Action, both as a partner and service provider. The vast majority (over 90 per cent) rated our services as good or excellent, and similarly our approach to partnership working.  Stakeholders wished us to expand our training and information resources, and we are considering this.

Working Together

 

Client Feedback

July 2006

This research, carried out by independent consultants Michael Bell Associates, shows that clients trust us, continue to rate our services very highly and, on virtually all measures, ratings had improved since the previous 2003 survey.  However, clients’ personal situations and experiences of wider society, were generally worse than in 2003, with higher levels of abuse and fear of racial abuse reported, as well as higher rates of destitution and its associated problems.  Also, an uncomfortably high proportion of clients were unhappy about their housing circumstances and we have been working on this.

Client Feedback

 

Refugees Welcome Here

April 2006
Final report of the Refugees Welcome Here campaign, which was launched by a coalition of refugee organisations in Greater Manchester as a reaction against the negative portrayal of asylum seekers in the media.

Refugees Welcome Here

 

Building New Lives in the Community: The Derwent Refugee Community Development Support Project

March 2006

Evaluation and end of project report for the Refugee Community Development Support Project in Derby.

Building New Lives - Derwent

 

Filling the Gaps: Services for refugees and asylum seekers in Derby

January 2006

A research project with Refugee Housing Association mapping services for refugees and asylum seekers.

Filling the Gaps

 

Labour Lost: Refugees and employment

Report on the experience of refugees and asylum seekers in the North West with permission to work.

Labour Lost report
Labour Lost summary

 

In Tune with Detainees: conference report

18 October 2005
Conference following a pilot programme assessing the feasibility of bringing music into detention centres to enhance mental well-being.

In Tune with Detainees

 

Building New Lives: North West refugee development conference

Sept 2004
A report on conference aimed to build relationships between refugee-led groups and the wider voluntary sector in the North West.

Building New Lives North West conference

 

Fleeing the Fighting - How conflict drives the search for asylum

June 2004

A report on war and conflict in refugee-producing countries produced by the Refugee Week Partnership.

Fleeing the Fighting

 

Client Feedback on Refugee Action’s One Stop Services

December 2003
A survey was undertaken of users of Refugee Action’s asylum advice services to gain an up-to-date picture of the problems faced and an insight as to how services can be improved. The report summarises the findings and offers recommendations.

Client Feedback report

 

Book cover - Every tree has its roots
Book cover
Every tree has its roots

Every tree has its roots: Refugees from Vietnam and their children speak about here and there

Van Ly Ung, 2003

The book and the accompanying CD-ROM are products of the national Vietnamese Oral History Project and the accompanying joint Refugee Action and Museum of London pilot. The project was set up to record the memories and experiences of the Vietnamese living in the UK.

 

Refugees: The truth behind the fiction

S.Campbell, June 2002

 

The Experience of the Volunteer Programme at Cedars

Rachel Gosling, March 1997

 

Last Refugee – Elderly people from Vietnam in the UK

February 1987

 

Refugees from Vietnam in Hong Kong

March 1986

 

First Impressions

Interview by Colin Hodgetts, summary by Jane Shackman, 1983 (reprinted 1991)

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Arts

Planning an Arts Event in the Refugee Sector

Planning an Arts Event in the Refugee Sector takes the reader through planning, setting up and holding an event, covering the important details a planning group will need. It is suitable for any organisation or community group holding a refugee-focused event, especially those who are doing it for the first time.

Planning an arts event

 

Working with the Arts and Refugees

Working with the Arts and Refugees is a guide for arts organisations and local authorities, particularly arts officers, to help them engage with the refugee sector through the arts.

Working with the Arts and Refugees

 

Directory for Arts and Refugees in the South East

Directory for Arts and Refugees in the South East is made up of sections on arts organisations (mainstream and community), refugee community oroganisation, local authority arts officers and a section on funding for refugees and the arts. It also includes a comprehensive list of the funding available to both community arts projects and professional artists in the South East, excluding London.

Directory for Arts and Refugees

 

Evaluation of South East Arts and Culture Refugee Project

This evaluation provides a strategic overview of the work of the Arts and Culture Refugee Project in the South East which ran from April 2005 till March 2008.

Arts & Culture Refugee project evaluation - exec summary

 

Fugitive arts

May 2004

A report into arts and refugees in the South East commissioned by Refugee Action and Arts Council England.

Fugitive arts

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Education, training and employment

Employing Staff Handbook

2008

A quick reference guide for refugee community organisations and other local groups who want to develop and pormote good practice in recruiting, employing and managing staff and volunteers.

Employing Staff Handbook

 

Routes to Learning - report into Refugee Action's community education work for women in Leicester

February 2007

A thorough evaluation of the Routes to Learning community education run by Refugee Action in Leicester, teaching English to asylum seeker women in 2006. A useful tool for other agencies undertaking a similar project.

Routes to Learning

 

An Evaluation of the Horizons Project: Volunteering – A Bridge to Integration

June 2006

An interesting analysis showing the benefits that Refugee Action's Horizons projects brings. Horizons helps asylum seekers find volunteer placements and the research shows that this increases confidence, their ability to integrate and their future chances of employment.

Horizons Evaluation

 

Bolton Employment Project

January 2006

Summary of research on barriers to refugee employment in Manchester.

Bolton Employment Project

 

The professional capacity of nationals from the Somali regions in Britain

Alice Bloch and Gaby Atfield, May 2002

Research commissioned by Refugee Action and the International Organization for Migration.

 

Afghan nationals in the UK: Professional capacity and views on return

May 2002

Research commissioned by Refugee Action and the International Organization for Migration.

 

Lessons for a New Start – An education programme for adults from Bosnia - Herzegovina in a UK reception centre

Maureen Priddin, Frances Haynes, Helen Wilson and Ferid Kevric, 1997

 

Research into the Employment, Training, and Educational Needs of Refugees from Vietnam in Leeds and Bradford

March 1988

 

Lessons for a New Beginner – an education programme for refugees adults in a UK reception centre

Penny Dane, 1987

 

A training project to prepare Vietnamese and Chinese field staff to work with people from Vietnam resettled in the UK

Suzanne Bang and Rosalind Finlay, September 1982

 

Making the Links – a training workshop on social work and refugees

Jill Reynolds and Rosalind Finlay, 1982

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Health

Better Mental Health for Refugees

Gillian Gibbons, September 2001

 

"…instead of medicine" – Bosnian mental health pilot project

Buffy McAfee, November 1998

This report examines a pilot project set up by Refugee Action to meet the unmet mental health needs of Bosnian refugees by increasing the community's knowledge and understanding of these needs and of the services available to them.

 

Health in Exile – the experience of refugees and evacuees in Leeds

Ruth Wilson, September 1998

 

Pregnancy and childbirth

Refugee Action and Maternity Health Links, February 1997

Video (49mins) and multilingual script (subject to availability) providing information and advice on pregnancy and childbirth for refugees and asylum seekers. Available in Arabic, Bangla, Bosnian, Cantonese, English, Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Somali, Urdu and Vietnamese.

 

The Bosnian Medical Evacuee Project (95/96) – A summary of the work and organisation of Refugee Action’s support project

September 1996

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Women

Hear My Voice: Refugee Women's involvement in integration.

Conference report, June 2006

Report on conference that brought together representatives from refugee communities and policy-makers to discuss the involvement of refugee women in integration adn to share ideas and good practice to inform future work.

Hear My Voice report

 

I could use these skills to do something... : refugee women and the voluntary sector in Merseyside

Lynne Walker, Refugee Action , April 2006

A research report about working with refugee women in Merseyside to assess and boost their skills. Includes recommendations to the Home Office and guidelines for the voluntary sector working with refugee women.

I could use these skills - full report
I could use these skills - exec summary

 

Is it safe here? Refugee women's experiences in the UK

Hildegard Dumper, December 2002

Refugee Action ‘s unique research report that, for the first time, comprehensively documents refugee women’s experiences in the UK. The research findings informed our campaign Standing up for women’s safety.

Is it safe here? Executive summary
Is it safe here? Full report

 

Refugee women in East Sussex: A report into the experiences of refugee women in East Sussex

Manal Ahmed, April 1996

 

Domestic Violence Against Women from the Vietnamese Refugee Community: Implications for Housing and Other Services

Jayne Humm, March 1998

 

Experience and Conditions of Refugees in Cambridge and Women Refugees in Brighton and Hove

Jayne Humm, 1994

 

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Young people

Peer Mentoring Toolkit

This Toolkit has been produced so that the Peer Mentoring Project at Refugee Action may share its learning with other youth and refugee agencies or services who wish to take on such a project to support young refugees. The kit is downloadable from the Peer Mentoring section of our website.

Peer Mentoring Toolkit

 

Study of Young Single Vietnamese in Britain

Chris Mougne, 1986

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Housing

The Unheard Community – Housing conditions and needs of refugees from Vietnam living in London

John Bell and Lola Clinton, August 1992 and April 1993

 

Housing and Vietnamese Refugees

A bibliography of significant sources concerning the housing conditions and needs of Refugees from Vietnam living in London
Voula Tantanozi, October 1992

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Handbooks and directories

Directory for Arts and Refugees - South East England

The Directory for Arts and Refugees: South East England is made up of sections on arts organisations (mainstream and community), refugee community organisations, local authority arts officers and a section on funding for refugees and the arts. It also includes a comprehensive list of the funding available to both community arts projects and professional artists in the South East, excluding London.

This directory is part of the work of the South East Regional Arts and Culture Refugee Project run by Refugee Action and funded by Arts Council England, South East.

[This Directory is currently being updated. Contact Refugee Action in Stockwell.]

 

Directory of refugee-led groups in Bolton, Bury, Salford, Wigan and Greater Manchester

Refugee Action, April 2006

Refugee Community Organisations Directory

 

Employing workers – a handbook for refugee community organisations

Loan-Anh Nguyen, 1996 (2nd edition)
Available in Bosnian, English and Somali

 

Guidelines for running a community association

Loan-Anh Nguyen and Phillip Williams, 1995
Available in Albanian, Arabic, Bosnian, English, Farsi, Kurdish and Somali.

 

Contracts guidance - a handbook for refugee community organisations

Jane Belman, Huong Nguyen and James Richardson, 1994
Available in Chinese, English and Vietnamese.

 

Methods for managing – a handbook for community associations of refugees from Vietnam

Van Ly Ung and Lois Graessle, 1990
Available in Chinese, English and Vietnamese.

 

We come as a friend – Towards a Vietnamese model of social work

Suzanne Bang, 1987

 
Voluntary return

Choices conference 2005

In February 2005 Choices held its first national conference. A total of 85 delegates from 45 organisations across England participated in a series of workshops and presentations by the International Organisation for Migration, the Home Office, the Horn of Africa project, the Somali community and UNHCR who also supported the conference. Download the conference report:

Choices Voluntary Return conference report

refugee voicesSelima

"Whenever I see another mum bringing her children to school, I smile. But I am empty inside because I have lost my own children."

Selima