Safe environment? Investigating the use of temporary accommodation to house asylum seekers and refugees during the Covid-19 outbreak

Edinburgh Napier University have released research from a project on the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on asylum seekers and refugees living in the UK. It focused on those individuals placed in temporary accommodations such as hostels and hotels and ran from November 2020 until February 2022.

Co-produced with Migrants Organising for Rights and Empowerment (MORE), a grassroots organisation based in Glasgow advocating for human rights and dignity for asylum seekers and refugees living in the UK, it adopted a digital ethnographic approach.

Safe environment? Understanding the housing of asylum seekers and refugees during the Covid-19 outbreak. Final Report, February 2022.

 You can find out more about some of the publications and resources.

Research Objectives:

  • To document the housing conditions and understand the impact of relocation from the perspectives and experiences of asylum seekers themselves

  • To identify factors and mechanisms which have placed asylum seekers living in temporary accommodation at greater risk of Covid-19

  • To work with grassroots community groups to influence government policies and practices on asylum accommodation in order to address the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on those seeking asylum

  • To influence media and public debate and raise awareness about the issues and challenges faced by asylum seekers and refugees living in the UK