Yes / Community-based peer volunteer interventions are increasingly used with people who are asylum seekers and refugees accessing health services. There is a dearth of evidence evaluating the benefits of volunteering for asylum seeking or refugee volunteers. Volunteers may have poor mental health and feel socially isolated due to their experiences as refugees and asylum seekers and may struggle or be unable to obtain paid employment. Volunteering in other contexts has been found to be beneficial to the health and well-being of the volunteer. This paper reports on an aspect of a wider study evaluating the community-based Health Access for Refugees Project, with the aim of exploring the impact of volunteering on the health and well-being of the peer (asylum seeker or refugee) volunteer. In 2020, we conducted qualitative semistructured interviews by phone with 15 volunteers who were asylum seekers or refugees. The interviews were audio recorded, data were transcribed verbatim and the data set was thematically analysed. We found that the positive relationships which developed and the training received through volunteering boosted volunteers' mental well-being. They felt motivated and confident in helping others, felt a sense of belonging and this reduced their social isolation. They also believed they benefited personally, helping their access to health services, and preparing them for future education, training or a career. In light of the beneficial nature of volunteering identified in this study, establishing more volunteering opportunities for this population and other marginalised groups with poor mental health is recommended. However, more research is needed to assess both the long-term impact of the role in terms of the peer volunteer's health and well-being, and the societal benefit of people moving on, integrating and contributing to society. / Refugee Council

This thesis will explore the possible obstacles among Region Stockholm municipalities in promoting adolescents’ mental health and well-being through experimental governance. The thesis will examine the municipal and non-municipal points of view on specifically promoting adolescents’ mental health and well-being through experimental governance in the Swedish context with the use of urban sustainability transitions and transition management frameworks. The urban sustainability transitions will help us understand the role of cities in creating new modes of urban governing processes. In addition, the use of a transition management framework will help us to understand the importance of shifting from traditional management approaches by rather placing greater focus on innovative and design-oriented methods. This approach highlights the importance of learning by doing process rather than a reaching specific destination. In addition, I will use a qualitative research design that uses the methods of semi- structured interviews. The empirical findings are analysed with the help of thematic analysis through the theoretical frameworks and concepts. It has been demonstrated an observable slow- paced adoption of experimental governance, insufficient specific promotion of adolescents’ mental health and well-being, and distant relationship between experimental governance and promotion specifically adolescents’ mental health and well-being in the urban planning process.

U N I V E R Z I T A K A R L O V A FILOZOFICKÁ FAKULTA Sociální politika a sociální práce Katedra sociální práce Diplomová práce Master Thesis Bc. Sarah Asfour Factors hampering the integration of Refugee Children Faktory ztěžující integraci uprchlických dětí Vedoucí práce: doc. PhDr. Oldřich Matoušek 2018 ABSTRACT The main aim of this thesis is to describe the factors that hamper the integration of Refugee Children into a new society. Factors that are mentioned in relation to integration are connected with an education gap, unfamiliarity with the language spoken in a new society, a bad economic situation of a family and its consequences and unstable or inappropriate housing. Social economic factors are also mentioned in the thesis. Child Labour closely linked to family conditions are discuess together with the worst form of it: child requitment into army. Refugee children coming from various backgrounds also may face many psychologically challenging situations when forcefully or willingly leaving their home country and other significant situations connected to their refugee status. In this thesis, I discuss psychological distresses that influence children's mental state due to war experience, migration experience, extended stays in refugee camps or post-migration stressors. In this thesis the situation of...

Städerna växer och allt fler strukturer av olika material byggs upp, och med detta minskar de gröna ytor som finns. Träd huggs ned och olika växter dras ut med rötterna och ersätts av metall, betong, lera m.m. De ytor som en gång varit gröna och fulla av liv blir allt mer gråa och livlösa. Människan skapar större städer, med höga och stora byggnader som ersätter den vegetation som en gång legat på platsen. Den fråga som då uppstår är: Hur kan vi fortsätta bygga strukturer, men samtidigt inte minska på de gröna ytor som finns? Ett alternativ kan vara att integrera grönska och vegetation på byggnadernas fasader, terrasser och tak, samtidigt skapa ytor på olika nivåer som ersätter den mark som finns under byggnaderna. Samtidigt är det viktigt att fundera över den påverkan som grönska har på oss människor och arkitekturen som den vistas bland. I Sverige, som i många andra delar av världen, väljer en stor mängd människor att vistas bland vegetation/grönska eller tycker om att ta hand om sin trädgård och befinna sig i den. Bland vackra och väldoftande blommor och växter. Därför är syftet med arbetet att både fundera över hur man kan integrera grönska i arkitekturen, men även undersöka vilken påverkan denna integrering kan komma att ha på människans psykiska och fysiska välmående. Resultatet av den studie som utförts visar en positiv inverkan av integration av grönska på arkitektur, men att mängden spelar en stor roll för de som besvarade enkätens frågor. Likaså visar experternas påståenden att detta stämmer in på det arbete de tidigare utfört och/eller det arbete de strävar efter. Dessutom kan resultatet av dessa stärkas med hjälp av den teoretiska bakgrund som stödjer studien, där ett flertal forskare för diskussionen vidare i sin forskning och belyser vikten av att utföra fler studier av denna sort för att säkerställa vikten av ämnet i fråga. Integreringen av grönska på terrasser, fasader och tak blir allt mer aktuellt, även här i Sverige, och med denna studie hoppas den studieansvariga att frågan tas upp ännu mer och vidare forskas inom den nordiska, eller mer specifikt den svenska sektorn. / The cities are growing and more and more structures made up of different materials are being built, and with this follows the reduction of already existing green spaces. Trees are cut down and different plants are pulled out along with their roots and replaced by metal, concrete, clay etc. The spaces that used to be green and full of life are becoming increasingly grey and lifeless. Humans are building larger and larger cities, with high and massive buildings that are replacing the vegetation that was once present on the ground beneath them. The question that then arises is: How can we continue building and expanding our cities, without damaging and reducing the green spaces that already exist? An alternative can be the integration of greenery and vegetation on the building’s façade and on its rooftops, and at the same time create surfaces on different levels that can replace the ground beneath the building.  At the same time it is important to think about the impact that greenery has on us humans and on architecture. In Sweden, like in many other countries around the world, a large quantity of people choose to walk or stay where there is vegetation/greenery or like to take care of their garden and enjoy the beauty of it. Among beautiful and fragrant flowers and plants. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to both reflect on how one can integrate greenery in architecture, but also examine the impact that this form of integration can have on the human psyche and physical well-being. The results of the conducted study shows a positive impact of the integration of greenery on architecture, quantity, however, plays a large part for the respondents of the enquiry. Also the claims made by the experts within the field of architecture shows that this does in fact align with the work that they either have conducted in the past or the work that they are striving for. In addition, the results can through these be strengthened with the help of the theoretic background that supports the study conducted, where several researchers further the discussion in their research and highlight the importance of conducting more studies of this sort to ensure the importance of the subject at hand. The integration of greenery on facades and rooftops is becoming increasingly more relevant, even in Sweden. With this thesis, the study supervisor and author hope that the question is brought to light more and that more research is conducted within the Nordic, or more specifically the Swedish sector.