Social Rights eliminates the mentoring program for asylum seekers

BarcelonaJust a few weeks before the amendment to the immigration regulations comes into effect, the Department of Social Rights has abolished the Social Mentoring Program for refugees and asylum seekers, which had been in operation since 2017. The stoppage, in principle, is temporary, and the Directorate General of Migration and Shelters justifies it by the need to take the "Use of people with international protection needs." However, the decision has been surprising within the sector. On the one hand, because there was a verbal commitment for it to continue. On the other, because it comes on the eve of May 20, when the Spanish government will tighten requirements for people awaiting a resolution to their asylum application.

The department is putting this social mentoring program out to tender in eight lots, taking into account the territorial division of Catalonia. Three social entities (Resilis, CCAR, and Esport 3) are in charge of coordinating and training volunteers with professionals hired through the plan. They are referred by asylum seekers by local councils and other associations, and the supervision of this professional team falls to the Social Mentoring Coordinator. Syrians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Venezuelans and Malians are the majority nationalities in the program, as well as Moroccans, Pakistanis and Afghans.

For Joan, one of the mentors who committed to the program, the decision of the department directed by Mònica Martínez Bravo It is absurd because it leaves these vulnerable people in an "even more precarious situation" since they no longer have the support of volunteers. Along the same lines, the director of the Coordinator, Raquel Carrión, laments that they are left unattended, "without the essential community support that mentors offer to create a social network, learn the language and gain knowledge of the environment, leaving them without very significant reference points for newcomers." Furthermore, the elimination coincides with regulatory changes that will mean that those denied asylum will be required to remain in administrative irregularity for two years, not the six months they have been until now.

Since the program was launched in 2017—coinciding with the demonstrations of We want to welcome–, more than 1,800 mentors and 1,200 mentees have participated. Last year, 153 tandems (mentoring pairs or group mentoring) were formed. Participants are not paid to participate.

"It's not about having a cup of coffee every afternoon."

The restart of the plan has no date yet, but it certainly won't be until after the summer, when the new regulations are in force. The head of the organization believes that the "technical shutdown" of the program will damage the "trust" of the organizations that refer asylum seekers, the work carried out in mentoring, and also the motivation of the mentees to participate in other programs. "It's not about going for a coffee every afternoon," she explains, but rather the goal is to establish a relationship of "trust and respect" in a process where both mentor and mentee win.

Mentors are more than volunteers who spend time with the mentees. Thus, they must first undergo a psychological and competency interview and undergo specific training on their role and on aspects related to international protection. Furthermore, there must be a commitment of at least eight months, although relationships often extend beyond that.

The letter that the Directorate General of Migration has sent to entities and mentors to announce the pause of the program indicates that the intention is to resume it, and in this sense Carrión explains that the Coordinator and other associations have been invited to participate in this collective reflection.