Opening Doors

Background

Up to June 2009, CIH worked with HACT (the housing action charity) in a project called ‘Opening Doors’, which was funded by the Housing Corporation and DCLG. The project addressed the housing needs of refugees and other new migrants. It involved partnership working with eleven housing associations in six different areas of England.

Opening Doors produced a range of material which should be useful to any housing organisation wanting to expand its services to refugees and new migrants. Included below are:

• The Opening Doors evaluation report

• The Opening Doors Toolkit

• An extract from the report which specifically covers Action Learning Sets

• Details of new housing provided by three OD partners and of the ‘Refugee Futures’ scheme in Nottingham

• UCAN Drive, details of a driving course for migrants/refugees in Bolton

• Focus group on migrant housing needs in Bolton

• A set of training modules on refugee and new migrant housing issues (material will need to updated for recent changes)

• St Vincent’s HA training portfolio which is based on the main modules

• A literature review of national, regional and local policy reports on new migration, especially migration from the EU member states.

In addition, through Opening Doors CIH and HACT created a website that gives clear and regularly updated guidance on the housing entitlements of different types of migrant – www.housing-rights.info

Opening Doors main reports

Opening Doors evaluation report is available to purchase from our online bookshop

Opening Doors toolkit

Opening Doors - Case study material

Action learning sets

Providing homes through Opening Doors

UCAN driving project

Bolton migrants' focus group

St Vincents training portfolio

Training modules

Introduction

Module 1: The challenge

Module 2: The people

Module 2b: Supplementary material - Alife on the run

Module 3: The legalities

Module 4: Partnerships

Module 5: Housing

Module 6: Destitution

Module 7: Basic support

Module 8: Wider support

Module 9: Integration & cohesion

Module 10: Gateway

Lierature review

Part 1 - Lessons from national studies & policy reviews on new migrants

Part 2 - Review of local and regional studies on new migrants

Part 3 - Lessons from local & regional studies on new migrants

Part 4 - Review of local programmes/projects on new migrants