Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Migrants and refugees face a multitude of health and safety challenges that have been intensified by the pandemic, such as: losing employment and income; eviction and homelessness; and lack of access to 'safety net' support. In addition, some countries have temporarily suspended issuing residency permits, leaving people with irregular status in their country of asylum and further impacting their access to employment and social services. To support migrants and refugees, consider:

• Participate in national resettlement programmes (e.g. SRP UK) to guide preparations, ongoing support and integration of migrants and refugees into local communities
• Establish a working group to enable collaborative working between local councils, community groups and related agencies to determine how local authorities can meet legislative requirements of resettlement programmes
• Inform and prepare local communities where migrants and refugees are to be resettled
• Identify registered and unregistered refugee populations in communities
• Conduct risk and vulnerability assessment mapping
• Include migrants and refugees in social protection schemes to support those who have lost income generating opportunities
• How systems will protect migrants and refugees from harm, irrespective of their status, with access to essential health and social care
• Agree that immigration status is not a legitimate basis to deny access to essential public services (e.g. healthcare, vaccination), and communicate this to public services, migrant and refugee populations, and wider groups
• Invest in risk communication and community engagement at local levels to disseminate information in the relevant languages of migrants and refugees
• Partner with humanitarian actors to provide services
• Establish humanitarian service points or 'safe spaces' which are not subject to immigration enforcement activities, where humanitarian actors can provide essential services to vulnerable migrants