Louise Bloom, Community Hub Manager at Refugee Action Kingston, an Abundance Project Community Research Hub, reflects on a recent community mapping workshop, led by Dr Peter Garside, Abundance Project Co-Investigator and Head of the Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment at Kingston University.
Here at Refugee Action Kingston (RAK), people are at the heart of what we do. Aside from providing essential services such as legal and welfare advice, hardship funds, and English classes, at our core is a strong community of people seeking asylum, refugees and volunteers.
Regardless of how long people have spent in the UK, from the moment they arrive they immediately form part of the diverse local community we have here in Kingston. Just like everyone else living in the borough, commonly used spaces include things such as schools, doctors, shops, public transport and green spaces. However, being new to the area, not speaking English or suffering mental health challenges due to past trauma can affect the way in which people access new places.
Inspired by the thinking behind the Abundance Project, we recently collaborated with a team of geography students and Dr. Peter Garside from Kingston University to create a community-led map of the most important spaces in the local area as seen through the eyes of RAK members. The mapping involved several discussions between the students and RAK members at our weekly Community Hub.
35 RAK members participated and together plotted a total of 52 key places and local amenities on the community map. These spaces along with the discussions during the workshops led the students to discover three categories which stood out as being important drivers for how people used what’s on offer in the borough.
The insights included: how important food is in bringing people together; that despite many people arriving alone to the UK, friends and family still form important connections in Kingston; and finally, that organised community activities are important for people seeking asylum, or with refugee status in Kingston. These topics are briefly described below.
1. Food bonds communities together
It may not come as a surprise to those who know Kingston, but as a diverse and bustling town there is a rich range of restaurants specialising in food from around the globe. In discussion at the mapping workshop many members mentioned being able to eat food from their own countries, as an important part of life here.
People seeking asylum who are living in hotels, are brought take-away style food to them for each meal. These meals are often lacking in nutrients and there is also no place to eat together, so people are left to take meals to their rooms alone. One important place for RAK members living in the hotels is the community kitchen at Save the World Club. At this community kitchen, people seeking asylum can use the kitchen to cook for their family twice a week – this is an important resource for some of RAK’s members who don’t otherwise have access to a kitchen and offers an opportunity to socialise whilst cooking.
Eating socially has been shown to improve wellbeing, as demonstrated by a University of Oxford research project on how social eating connects communities. Here at RAK we know food is an important part of our Community Hub activities too.
At our weekly drop-in centre we offer a warm and healthy meal made by a team of volunteer chefs, including RAK members. Each week this team cooks for over 100 people, using surplus food donated via our partners at the Surplus to Supper Club, and through the Neighbourly App.
Many members also enjoy sharing dishes from their own countries and often proudly bring items to share. The meals and dishes often create a talking point and connection between people, hopefully contributing to wellbeing in a way we might not initially consider.
2. Friends and family in surrounding areas mean better access to local assets
To those familiar with London, it is easy to take for granted the green parks, free walks and community spaces on offer. However, for some RAK members, who have recently arrived, are living alone, or are suffering with mental health issues, it is significantly harder to find the motivation to go outside. One RAK member told us that he loved running and visiting museums but that he would not want to go alone.
During a recent Abundance Project workshop, some of the following challenges were highlighted for people seeking asylum and refugees, and the difficulties in accessing green or cultural spaces – even if they are free to use. People commonly…
- Do not know that the spaces exist or are free to visit (this has even been the case for our local parks such as Richmond and Bushy Park)
- Do not have appropriate clothing, be it a winter coat, or are wearing traditional clothes which might not be suited for travelling on trains or buses or walking long distances.
- Are afraid of leaving the hotel, unsure of legal rights when first arriving.
- Are unable to read signs due to limited English language skills
- Are unable to communicate with people to ask for directions and are ignored.
During the mapping activity, the importance of having company, and other people to be with, to visit new places became apparent. The students noted that many people described how places are used, rather than just the name of the location. For example, the Thames river path in Kingston was plotted with the label ‘walking with friends along the river’. And the shops in the town centre, were not only a place to purchase essential items, but rather a place to ‘spend time with people or family.’ The exercise showed that connecting with others and having companionship, can help to overcome some of the barriers listed above.
3. Organised community spaces are important
When discussing weekly routines and places that are commonly used, many people mentioned the numerous community activities available in Kingston. Aside from RAK classes and our community spaces we create, we also promote the many other community groups who offer activities in our borough. For example exercise classes, English classes, and group walks (often referred to as ‘walk and talk’ events), are all important elements of people’s weekly routines. Research analysis from Oxford has shown that creating structured programmes such as these helps to engage people and prompt vital community connections.
Here in Kingston we have a strong network of community groups, and we aim to direct people to the multitude of event and opportunities available. We do this through our own partnership connections, emails and printed materials, but also via a local shared database of activities listed on the website Connected Kingston.
One challenge with these services is still rooted in personal connection. If alone, it is difficult to find the motivation to attend something new by yourself, even if you know what’s on offer. Attending community sessions is still most common when accompanied by friends or people you already know and trust.
At RAK we know that people create new friendships and connections in our space, which means they can then go together with others to try new things.
We plan to use our new community-led map created by the geography students, as a resource that can be shared with new people arriving in the borough, and we will continue to think of ways to keep it live and up to date. More importantly though, we know the map can’t act alone. Instead, we will continue to look at ways that volunteers and our community can support RAK members to discover their ‘something new’ in the local area, through companionship and human connection.
This post was wrriten by Louise Bloom, Community Hub Manager, Refugee Action Kingston. Refugee Action Kingston’s services and programmes are designed to support and empower individuals to have a new chance of leading fulfilling lives as active members of the community. With thanks to Kingston University, Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment, and Dr Peter Garside.