Nasc: New Beginnings, Children & Families Project
About this good practice
Problem Addressed:
Research has shown that ensuring family unity is crucial to the successful integration of refugees in their host communities. However, refugee families with children face many challenges when starting their new life in Ireland, e.g. lack of affordable housing, troubles accessing education, healthcare and the increasing cost of living. Such issues can have a disproportionate impact on families struggling to navitage trauma, culture shock and entirely unfamiliar bureaucratic systems.
How Objectives are reached:
Nasc’s New Beginnings project assists refugee children and their families in overcoming barriers by providing direct social work support for those transitioning out of state provided accommodation and children arriving to Ireland through refugee family reunification.
A key focus is preventing homelessness and securing adequate housing. Social workers advocate on behalf of families with landlords and housing services to ensure families have access to adequate housing.
In 2023 New Beginnings provided tailored support to families to prevent chronic poverty and deprivation of work, to alleviate food and energy poverty and support parents with newborn infants.
Another focus is supporting the longer-term education and wellbeing outcomes for children and families through support accessing schools, English language support, healthcare, therapeutic and wellbeing supports.
Stakeholders: Nasc; Community Foundation Ireland; St Vincent de Paul; Community Connect.
Resources needed
Staff costs: €57,147 (incl direct + indirect)
Direct Project Cost:
Language supports €5,000
Education & Integration Supports €6,500
Essential Needs €2,000
Direct Provision Transition Costs €6,100
Admin: €4,600
Total Project Cost per annum €81,347
Multiple funding sources used for these costs.
Evidence of success
In 2023, New Beginnings:
- Supported 64 children from 19 families, 12 countries
- Alleviated poverty for 19 families, homelessness for 13 families
- Ensured education placements/learning supports for 9 families - 24 youths
- Provided: home-set up material, post-arrival orientation e.g. public service numbers, residence permits, GP registration, school enrollment
- Facilitated applications for social assistance supports for 19 families
- Provided 22 young people intensive English language support
Potential for learning or transfer
Nasc’s New Beginnings project has been consistently and successfully supporting families since 2021. It could be reproduced and adapted to different contexts and countries by using social work as a means to offer integration supports. An important first step is assessing what the needs of refugee families are in the relevant context. Before establishing the New Beginnings project, Nasc commissioned research into the needs of refugee families in Ireland. The resulting report informed the structure and work of the New Beginnings project. Following this example, other organisations and institutions can design informed social work strategies to support and empower refugee families in overcoming barriers within local housing, social welfare, education, employment and immigration systems.
Further information
Documents
Invisible People (2020).pdf
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.