Research can be a powerful tool in helping society address issues related to migration and movement. At Kent, it’s producing evidence to inform policy decision making and empowering refugees and migrants to shape their own narrative, ultimately working towards improving the lives of these vulnerable communities.

Broadening mental health support

Refugees and migrants are often at greater risk of developing mental health problems, including depression, PTSD and anxiety disorders. Dr Jessica C. Fisher, a Research Fellow in the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, recently collaborated with researchers from across the UK and Germany to examine how refugees and migrants can benefit from outdoor health interventions. Through a series of focus groups and surveys, she and her co-researchers found that the opportunities for shared experiences, being outdoors, and gaining new knowledge about the local landscape helped to enhance the health and wellbeing of participants. It suggests that this could prove an innovative, cost-effective and scalable option for improving support during resettlement processes.

Changing the narrative

How do we ethically tell the stories of refugees and migrants? Dr Rachel Gregory Fox, a Leverhulme Research Fellow in the School of Humanities, has been addressing this question since 2021. She set out to understand how refugees and migrants have been represented in public discourse and to consider strategies for listening to and comprehending their stories. As part of her work, she has examined creative and community responses that have arisen in response to several events, including the European refugee ‘crisis’ (2015), the Windrush scandal (2018), and the Brook House Inquiry (commissioned in 2019). Her relationship with organisations such as KRAN is enabling her to take into account the direct experiences of refugees and migrants, which she hopes will contribute towards a more ethical and just language for talking to and about their communities in the UK.

Improving refugee employability

Data reveals significant employment disparities of 20% between refugees and the broader UK population. While research has shed light on individual and organisational challenges for refugees, the role of local government in closing this gap has largely underexplored until recently. Dr Joel Montgomery, a Lecturer in Kent Business School, has been interviewing figures in local councils in the Southeast to investigate how they address the issue of refugee employment and employability with the aim of revealing the way in which government activity ‘on the ground’ supports or impedes the employment opportunities available to refugees.