Supported Options Special Initiative launched
Grantees of a new Special Initiative of the PHF Social Justice programme, in partnership with Unbound Philanthropy, have been announced.
The Supported Options Initiative will test new approaches to providing practical support and advice to children and young people with irregular immigration status. The initiative will address the need for independent, trusted support services for young undocumented migrants, whose lack of legal status leaves them in a vulnerable position. The new approaches will aim to help them to stay safe and make informed decisions about their future.
A range of organisations and centres have been selected to benefit from the £1m fund, with six pilot projects to be undertaken. The recipients of the Supported Options fund are:
- The Children’s Society
- Coram Children’s Legal Centre
- Coventry Law Centre (in partnership with Grapevine and Community Based Champions)
- Islington Law Centre
- Praxis Community Projects, East London
- The Refuge and Migrant Centre, Wolverhampton.
The projects include outreach work, one-to-one support and legal advice, among other services.
The initiative has also commissioned On Road Media to explore the potential of social media and digital technology to meet the advice needs of young people. ‘Digital Undoc’ will bring together young people, grantees, youth, migrant and advice organisations with designers and developers to come up with practical ideas that could improve support.
The Special Initiative began in response to a 2010 PHF report, ‘No Right to Dream’. The report was based on qualitative research on young undocumented migrants living in the UK, undertaken by City University’s Department of Sociology in partnership with the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University and the Evelyn Oldfield Unit. The title of the report is a quote taken from one young person’s interview and expresses the hopelessness felt by many migrants who feel unable to ask for help.
Rob Bell, PHF Head of Social Justice, comments: “With Unbound Philanthropy, we are delighted to launch this new Special Initiative. Both Foundations recognise that whilst many young people can benefit from the opportunities a more interconnected world presents, that same connectedness can have devastating consequences for those who find themselves in the wrong place, at the wrong time. The young people this work will help are those who have already been subject to conflict, poverty, and exploitation – either directly or through their families – and we want to make sure that at the very least they get some help to stabilise their position and make some informed choices about the next steps in their journey.”
The initiative will be evaluated by the Institute of Voluntary Action Research to assess and maximise the impact of the work. The results will be communicated with other organisations and policy-makers on how young people with irregular immigration status are most effectively reached and supported.