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New guidance for life story work practitioners, social workers and interpreters working with refugee and asylum seeking young people is now available.
The materials – a toolkit for practitioners, a guide for interpreters, and a short animation for young people – have been produced by three organisations working in partnership – Blue Cabin, Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB), and Therapeutic Life Story Work International (TLSWi) – and funded by The Segelman Trust.
The animation is available in multiple languages – English, Dari, Arabic and Tigrinya.
They were produced to help ensure that newly arrived children and young people, including those who are unaccompanied, are supported through high quality, trauma-informed life story work.
Jenny Young, director of North East England-based charity Blue Cabin, explained more about the need for the resources: “Life story work aims to help children and young people reflect on their life story so far and understand who they are today.
“Having access to life story work can help refugee and asylum seeking young people, who may arrive with many unanswered questions about their past and their journey here, make sense of their lives and move forward with confidence in who they are and where they are going.”
Life story work isn’t a legal requirement for newly-arrived, asylum seeking children and young people. However, organisations such as CFAB offer life story work designed specifically to help newly-arrived and unaccompanied children and young people make sense of their journey.
Carolyn Housman, CEO of CFAB, said: “Refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people face distinct challenges before and after finding safety in the UK. Many have fled traumatic events, endured dangerous journeys, and faced prolonged uncertainty. Displacement from home and separation from loved ones can also significantly impact their sense of identity and belonging.
“Until now, professionals have had little guidance on how to support the needs of recently arrived children and young people. We are proud to share our expertise widely through these free resources, so that more young people get the specialist support they need.”
Paula Price, chair of TLSWi, said: “TLSWi practitioners have long supported children, young people, adults and families to explore their stories, make sense of their lives, manage difficult feelings, develop strengths, and to thrive. This work can be especially challenging when parts of a person’s past are missing. Learning to live with those gaps becomes an important step in their journey. Understanding that, despite gaps in the story, they can build a strong sense of identity is essential for helping them to tell their story, process traumatic experiences, and to look ahead to the chapters yet to come.
“These resources are to guide practitioners in providing the best possible support, to ensure that children and young people feel seen and understood, and experience meaningful and effective life story work.”
Nicky Lappin, senior executive at The Segelman Trust said: “The Segelman Trust is delighted to support these new life story resources for work with refugee and asylum seeking young people. We know how important life story work can be in helping young people to build a stronger sense of identity and belonging and find ways to move forward with their lives. We appreciate the expertise and care that Blue Cabin, CFAB and TLSWi have brought to ensuring that high quality, trauma-informed life story work is accessible to recently arrived young people.”
The resources are freely available online via Blue Cabin’s Creative Life Story Work website, CFAB’s website and TLSWi’s website. The project was funded by The Segelman Trust and the short animation, which explains what life story work is and is aimed at young people who are newly arrived in the UK, was produced by Kazzum Arts.
