2° THEME  HEALTH
                              

  & MENTAL HEALTH                              of  MIGRANTS        WORKERS       CITIZENS   

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CONTEXT:  in European metropolis the phenomenon of homeless people are more and more visible and, recently, it is growing the number of  migrants between the homeless, having lost any hope, who survives in shelters, squats, detention camps or on the streets in situations of extreme poverty, discrimination and exclusion, with dramatic consequences for health and mental health.

SMES-Europa, has already proposed this topic for last 10th conference (Rome 23-25/01/2008), 'Migrants  - Health & Dignity: integration & participation in citizenship' but following the particular interest among the participants and workers in this field and especially in reason of increasing of social and health problems linked with the social phenomenon of migrants homeless on the streets, on the shelters and on the detention and passage camps, we proposes to deepen this theme Health and Dignity of Migrants and to dedicate a specific seminar that will be organised in ATHENS on 2010.

Daily practice without reflection, discussion, evaluation and proposals of absolute priorities runs the risk of being reduced to the individual charitable assistance, without a real impact in social and health policy.

Due to lack of far-sighted and courageous European and National migration policies - the European countries are seeing increasing numbers of migrants, who - having lost any hope -  survives on detention camps or on the streets in situations of extreme poverty, discrimination and exclusion, with dramatic consequences for health and mental health.

This worsening situation has also negative consequences for those who works with migrants, and for local population that lives in permanent contact with migrants.

The main theme Health and Mental Health concerning :

   - MIGRANTS: living in situation of extreme poverty and social & health exclusion  

    - WORKERS : working with and in favour of them

   - CITIZENS  : living in the city together with them

  INVISIBLE WOUNDS

-  Migrants are coming from many traumatic experiences and circumstances in their native country, including

•   extreme poverty,

•   exposure to war,                

•   natural disasters

-  Migrants  in order to support their families are forced to

•   submit to all the kinds of pressures and exploitation ,               

•   accept all kinds of jobs, even though they may have the training and education for much better ones.

-  The exploitation of migrant seasonal workers without work permits is a new form of colonialism and slavery.

-  Vulnerability : exposure to traumatic conditions in one's own country, coupled with new and local difficulties: acculturation – integration  …. (in many instances it means: abandonnement of one's own identity in order to be acceptable) can lead to serious and long-lasting psychological and behavioural problems, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, high risk - unfortunately not only risk - of suicide.

  VISIBLE & INVISIBLE  on STREETS - SHELTERS - AMBULATORIES :  the places where the invisible wounds become visible:  

• SHELTERS for homeless, public and private, have existed for along time in almost all European metropolis, especially where the more important is the homeless are presents in bigger numbers.    But, today, because the phenomenon of homeless migrants increasing, also the number of migrants grows which creates different problems on the junction with the local homeless.

• AMBULATORIES : public health institutions are frequently not adapted to offer health services, and maintain barriers to the access of the homeless to the services.  For this reason many private health centres are created especially for offer the quality health services to the homeless and the migrants.

• OUTREACH mobile units: not all who are in the need ask for help ! And often the need is urgent.
  Diverse kinds of mobile teams, connected with shelters and dispensaries are created in order to offer services also to the people who for many reasons do not ask request or reject any kind of institutional services & help.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE : to promote Dignity & Health for migrants          (undocumented - homeless)

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: to focus special attention on Ambulatories Health care for migrants, in
         -  the city's sectors  (related or not with services of public health system)
         -  the shelter and camps  (consultations of doctor & nurse )
         -  the streets (through the mobile medical units).

  WORKERS in the field of the severe exclusion, are frequently working  in the conditions of emergency
    and stress, requested to find immediate, if not global and integrated answers.
    In this context the workers are often confronted with :

· relinquishing of responsibility by political bodies delegating action to charitable associations

· conflict between administrative-legislative dispositions, ethical code, and professional deontology

· incoherence between action plans, programs and insufficiency of resources

· frustrating role of being able to offer mere charitable assistance, with an obvious risk of burnout

  OUR CHALLENGE : to work together, exchange to change !
 

SMES-EUROPA  :  smeseu@smes-europa.org

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