children on the run


FROM SHELTER TO CASH ASSISTANCE: FINDING SOLUTIONS


The challenges facing asylum-seekers fleeing the NTCA are heart-wrenching and complex. Although more and more unaccompanied children, single mothers and entire families are arriving at shelters in places like Mexico, most are equipped for single men and women, and for migrants, not


asylum-seekers. Children and families


sometimes have nowhere to go, and are left homeless on the streets.


In 2016, UNHCR supported 20 shelters, increased the capacity of six shelters in Mexico and Guatemala by 400, and reached 4,000 children and adolescents with protection needs through the Education in Emergencies project. The Agency will continue this in 2017, while also improving the infrastructure of the shelters, and offering increased services, ranging from education to legal aid.


Shelter is more than a roof over your head


Shelters serving asylum-seekers from the NTCA can also be places where counselling and information can be offered, where children can re-start their education, and where job training and integration into the host community can begin.


Providing legal advice is critical


Many people fleeing for their lives are only worried about getting away from danger, without knowing that they can, or how to, request asylum. In 2015, only five per cent of asylum-seekers benefitted from legal assistance in Mexico.


Increasing the chance of a successful future Refugee


families’ long-term success depends


integrating into their host communities. UNHCR is working with local governments as well as businesses, educational and religious leaders to provide access to vocational and technical training to make sure refugees have access to jobs and financial services.


In Mexico, with the support of the municipality of Saltillo, Coahuila State, UNHCR started a pilot program to encourage the local integration of


refugee families.


Adults gained employment with social security, and children received scholarships from a private school. All families have access to medical and dental services.


When shelters are full—the cash assistance solution


UNHCR offers cash assistance to those unable to find space in a shelter or awaiting the status of their asylum application. Cash-based assistance has been used by UNHCR for over 30 years and is a successful and efficient method when traditional aid distributions won’t work. It provides flexibility for refugees to spend money where most needed, whether for rent, food, bills or school fees. It also helps inject revenue into the local economy. «


on


In 2017, UNHCR will look for more support from legal clinics, society


law schools, organizations,


other governmental and civil including the Instituto Federal


de Defensoría Pública (IFDP), and pro bono networks involving law firms and other legal providers.


Asylum-seekers and refugees provided 1,900


with cash-based assistance in Mexico in the States of Tabasco, Chiapas and Mexico City.


Children and adolescents back 4,000


to school through the Education in Emergencies project.


New locations in Mexico and Guatemala where UNHCR’s presence has been


4 established to reach out to people of concern. UNHCR / 23


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