Mentoring as a grassroots effort for integrating refugees – evidence from a randomised field experiment

Labor market situation of refugees in Europe: The role of individual and contextual factors

“…Studies have shown that being friends with natives and/or being member of a mainstream organization improves refugees' employment prospects (De Vroome and van Tubergen, 2010) and overall well being (Tip et al, 2019), similarly to other immigrants. Relying on a field experiment, Jaschke et al (2022) further demonstrated the importance of mentoring by local volunteers for refugees' social integration and participation. However, on average refugees tend to interact less with the native population than economic migrants (Martinovic et al, 2011).…”

Integrating Middle East and North Africa Unaccompanied Minors Refugees and Asylum Seekers through Mentoring: Exploring Eu-Based Research to Inform Future Applications in Portugal

“…Humanitarian assistance is crucial for the survival of displaced and refugee citizens, not only by providing shelter, nutrition, healthcare and water/sanitation, but also for the protection of their human rights by providing education and information as the basis for active participation in the development of modern multicultural societies. If well-planed, mentoring can be identified as a relevant strategy for national institutions to promote the social inclusion and well-being of refugees or asylum seekers in the pursuit of their free and active participation in society (EURITA, 2019, Atkinson, 2018, Jaschke et al, 2022, particularly for unaccompanied children and adolescents (Mentor, 2009, Thommessen et al, 2015.…”

“…Mentoring is being recognized as a positive and low-cost strategy that non-governmental institutions supporting refugee resettlement and integration can apply towards the facilitation of acculturation, social integration, and school success (Oberoi, 2016, Jaschke et al, 2022. If we acknowledge that refugee's integration in the host country is highly influenced by the way they experience contextual and social connectedness and if they achieve suitable socio-economic conditions, stable living environments and opportunities to learn the language (Varvin, 2017, Vervliet et al, 2014 then we believe that a valid argument for the implementation of mentoring programs fostering the integration support of refugees and asylum seekers in Portugal is established.…”

“…The studies assessing EU-based mentoring programs for refugees and asylum seekers are scarce. These programs are now gaining momentum in countries such as Sweden (Hosseini and Punzi, 2021) and Germany (Jaschke et al, 2022) and seem to be mainly focused on the support of unaccompanied minors (UM).…”

“…Specific intervention strategies are needed to both, support the integration of refugees and asylum seekers as well as to promote the education and information about the country's inhabitants towards the demystification of certain recurrent preconceptions of embodied danger, violence, and trauma (Varvin, 2017, Eide et al, 2018, Vervliet et al, 2014 towards the acknowledgment of the importance of including this migrant population for a peaceful and sustainable future of the society in which are being integrated. Peer mentoring has been a strategy implemented in a few EU countries for the integration of refugees and asylum seekers (Thommessen et al, 2015, Atkinson, 2018, Rodriguez and Dobler, 2021, Jaschke et al, 2022. Youth mentoring programs in particular have been identified as a low-cost strategy for youth at risk of developing a range of psychological, social, and behavioural problems (Raposa et al, 2019, Burton et al, 2021.…”