The Power of Community in the Peer MIST Project

– Izzy Dodd on behalf of the Welsh Refugee Council

Reflecting on the past year of the Peer MIST project has left an incredible sense of empowerment and community amongst partners and participants. In a society where divisions are rising, the project has reminded us of the power of coproduction and cooperation.

The Peer MIST project is utilising the power of movement to support people seeking sanctuary in Wales and the UK who have experienced trauma, to be the champions of their own physical and mental recovery. With the support of an incredible research and partner team, this project aims to give sanctuary seekers and refugees agency over their own bodies, putting them in the driving seat.

Alongside the practical tools this project seeks to produce, is a belief, or feeling, which is driving progress in the project and coproduction phase: empowerment. Sanctuary seekers and refugees have faced unimaginable hardship; suffering loss, war, oppression, persecution, and even torture. But on reflection of the last year in this project, a by-product of the research and coproduction has been an incredible sense of empowerment amongst the participants. The ability to recognise power and authority over one’s own body, emotions, and future, instils an immense sense of hope, which for so many sanctuary seekers has been taken away as they’ve been forced to flee their homes.

As we collectively reflect on the past year, observing Mental Health Awareness Week in May, and World Refugee Day and Refugee Week in June, we must celebrate the achievements made so far, and look forward to the rest of the project with hope, confidence, and a renewed sense of connection and solidarity.

Read more about the Peer MIST Project…