UK: How York allotment scheme will help refugees adjust to new life in Yorkshire

“For refugees, growing food and flowers can also help them connect with their own heritage through the growing of culturally relevant foods.

By Chris Burn
Yorkshire Post
4th May 2021

Excerpt:

Fiona Howlett, Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy and the other joint leader of the project, adds: “We hope that the longer-term future of the project will help build sustainability and help to forge relationships between the refugees and the allotment community.”

The scheme is also intended to provide volunteer opportunities for students, particularly Occupational Therapy Society members.

It is part of the university’s wider social inclusion work.

A spokesperson says: “Asylum seekers and refugees are often the most vulnerable within our society, frequently without easy access to support and facing barriers of prejudice, language and bureaucracy.

“Research in this theme seeks to understand asylum seeker experiences and impact on policy and practice in areas such as resettlement and the role of language in shaping perceptions and experience.”

One strand of work is examining the barriers facing LGBT+ people seeking asylum in the UK.

Read the complete article here.