Written by Sasha Sima-Roper, Political Communications Intern at the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association (ACAA).
Social isolation and international migration are two of the most significant challenges facing newcomers to any country — and research shows that when they combine, their effects on wellbeing can be severe. Studies have found that social isolation and migration each independently carry adverse effects on physical and mental health, but when migrants have limited access to supportive social networks, these effects compound one another, according to a 2021 study by Bilecen & Vacca in the journal Social Science and Medicine. First-generation migrants aged 50–70 are particularly vulnerable, perceiving themselves as having significantly lower levels of social support compared to second-generation migrants and non-migrants alike.
The consequences of this isolation can be profound. A lack of meaningful links to the local community can intensify feelings of depression and hopelessness among newcomers (Bhugra et al., 2014; WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2018), and the gap between what new migrants expect of life in their host country and the reality they encounter can itself trigger depression or other disorders (Banulescu-Bodgan, 2020). Importantly, this applies even to migrants with secure legal status, who may nonetheless face separation from family and friends in their countries of origin while struggling to build networks in their new communities (Banulescu-Bogdan, 2020).
In the UK, these challenges are sharpened by the fact that asylum seekers do not have the right to work while their claims are being processed — a policy widely cited as the single most effective barrier to both social and economic integration. As the Migration Policy Institute has noted, “there is an urgent need to create alternative ways for socially isolated populations to participate meaningfully in their host communities.” Groups unable to find work face a particularly high risk of social isolation, and it is important to recognise that some new migrants may never find employment at all. For this reason, pathways to integration and social inclusion that exist beyond the workplace are not supplementary — they are essential.
Facilitating ways for refugees to participate productively in nontraditional work or community activities can serve as a bridge to integration, immersing newcomers in their new communities and ensuring they are “empowered not assisted” (Desiderio, 2016). Indeed, the extent to which a society supports its most vulnerable members, beyond purely economic measures, is a true barometer of the success of integration overall.
This is where the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association (ACAA) plays a vital role.
Celebrating Culture, Building Bridges
At the largest scale, the ACAA organises the annual ACAA Summer Festival — the UK’s largest Refugee Week Festival and the world’s largest Afghan Music Festival, drawing 10,000 attendees during their most recent 2026 festival alone. The family-friendly festival brings together Afghan, Central Asian, Persian, South Asian and wider communities for a day of live music, traditional dance, cultural exhibitions and community stalls.
Events like this do far more than provide entertainment. Cultural Heritage Exhibitions, for example, educate local communities on the histories of the regions from which immigrants have come, as well as the personal stories behind their journeys. This kind of cultural exchange builds awareness of immigrant identity and lived experience, creating the conditions for greater social integration and cohesion connecting not only migrants to their new communities, but communities to their newest members.
Women’s Empowerment: Rebuilding Confidence and Community
The ACAA runs a range of women’s empowerment groups, workshops, and activities designed to offer Afghan women a space in which to feel heard, to share their experiences, and to rebuild their confidence. Weekly workshops cover everything from child safety to embroidery, providing both practical skills and social connection.
One standout example is the Hounslow Action for Youth (HAY) Poetry Workshops, which saw refugee women participate in a month-long series of creative sessions in 2023. The use of creative avenues to foster self-expression and build connections between women reflects a broader understanding that community is built as much through shared experience as through shared space.
The impact of these programmes can be life-changing. One participant, Hajira, shared her experience:
“I suffered from domestic violence. My husband totally broke my confidence and now I am building my self-esteem with these women… Because the people here are from my community, I feel comfortable and I can get the experience I need. I am happier and I have a lot of hope for the future.”
For women arriving from backgrounds of abuse, conflict, and fear, such opportunities to rebuild a support network are not simply beneficial — they are transformative.
Sport and Youth: Inclusion Across Generations
Community-building at the ACAA extends across all ages. The Balkh and Ghorband Football Club provides Afghan and Muslim boys and girls aged 8–16 with an environment in which to develop their physical and mental wellbeing while building teamwork and lasting social bonds. Sport, as a universal language, offers a uniquely accessible route into community life for young people who may otherwise struggle to find their place.
For children and young people navigating both a new country and a new school system, the ACAA’s Supplementary School offers support with core subjects — English, Maths, and Farsi — through educational activities that help children form bonds with peers while maintaining a connection to their heritage.
Education as Integration
Education as a tool for social inclusion extends well beyond childhood. The ACAA’s ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) for Integration projects welcomes refugees and asylum seekers aged 16 and over into a fun, relaxed environment where improving reading, writing and speaking skills goes hand in hand with forming connections. Language, after all, is one of the most powerful keys to participation in community life — and building it alongside others facing the same journey creates bonds that extend beyond the classroom.
Advice, Guidance, and a Place to Be Heard
Underpinning all of these activities is the ACAA Advice Clinic, which offers free, professional guidance on housing, employment, and welfare. For newly arrived migrants navigating an unfamiliar system, simply having somewhere to go — somewhere they feel listened to and taken seriously — can make an enormous difference. The Clinic also provides longer-term one-to-one support and tailored help for young people and unaccompanied minors, ensuring that the most vulnerable are not left behind.
One beneficiary, Najib, described what that support meant to him:
“I spent very long hours in the office, and they were all very welcoming and supportive. After spending many months on the streets, I have now been accommodated. I received support from the ACAA when no one else wanted to, and I will be forever thankful to them.”
Conclusion: Community Is Integration
The research is clear: employment matters for integration, but it is not the whole story. Social exclusion carries long-term consequences for the wellbeing, safety and security of whole societies — not just for the individuals who experience it. What the ACAA provides, through its festivals, workshops, sports clubs, schools, language classes, and advice services, is something that no policy alone can deliver: a genuine sense of belonging.
I have been fortunate enough to experience this first-hand through helping the ACAA in their community-building mission. I have witnessed some of the clubs, workshops, and classes hosted at the ACAA headquarters and how much those partaking from various backgrounds have enjoyed their time and made new connections.
By creating spaces where newly arrived migrants are empowered to participate, contribute, connect, and grow, the ACAA helps to build community. And in doing so, it demonstrates that integration is not a transaction, but a relationship between people, built over time, through shared experience, and sustained by mutual care.