Migrants are welcomed and supported through this community programme which helps them integrate into life in the UK.
LONDON BOROUGH WITH HIGH LEVELS OF MIGRATION
Haringey has high levels of migration and population change; 45 percent of residents were born outside the UK and one third of residents have lived in the borough for less than five years. These factors provide distinct challenges to building strong, integrated communities.
SUPPORT TO SETTLE IN AND ACCESS SERVICES
Connected Communities is a programme that aims to make migrants feel welcome, support them to settle quickly into London, and improve their ability to access Haringey Council’s services. Connected Communities supports new migrants in the following ways: (1) navigating the system – improving access to appropriate information, advice, guidance, and support; (2) housing – support with finding suitable homes that meet residents’ needs; (3) employment – finding qualification-appropriate job and career progression pathways; (4) parenting and early years –support with successfully transitioning to parenthood and ensuring children have the best start; (5) community groups – integrating migrants into the wider community and building social networks. Another area that runs throughout the programme is providing suitable means to improve English language skills amongst new migrants, which is usually a critical element to obtaining a job, accessing services, and successfully integrating into life in the UK.
building resilience amongst NEW MIGRANT communities
Over 1,000 migrants have benefited from the Connected Communities programme since launching in January 2019. This is due to making use of and improving access to existing services, and being based where people frequently go, such as libraries, doctors’ surgeries, and children centres. This shift towards prevention and building resilience will reduce the need for acute crisis-based intervention and will have a lasting impact on public organisations, which can now working together holistically and share learning. The programme is co-designing a multi-lingual information app to improve access to services, as well as a working toolkit to share with other local authorities. Connected Communities was entirely driven by research with migrants and partner organisations to understand the barriers to strong, integrated communities.
