2026-05-04T14:46:59Z https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/oai

oai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/4511 2021-12-17T13:08:08Z socialinclusion:ART driver

Security Net and Ambassadors for Social Inclusion? The Role of Intermediaries in Host–Refugee Relationships in Homestay Programs Brinker, Lara‐Désirée family hosting; housing; migration; refugees; volunteering In response to refugees’ social marginalisation and lack of appropriate housing, homestay programs have emerged as a new approach to refugee accommodation. However, caring relationships between asylum‐seekers and refugees and locals are prone to reproduce power imbalances. As a countermeasure, flatshares initiated by the organisation Refugees Welcome are created within a three‐fold network of hosts, social workers, and volunteers. The volunteers serve as intermediaries and provide refugees with personalised support to become more rooted in society. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and thirty in‐depth interviews with hosts, refugees, intermediaries, and social workers in Catalonia (Spain), this article explores the responsibilities and struggles of intermediaries in the hosting networks. Results show that intermediaries give refugees and hosts a sense of security during the flatshare and keep social workers informed, yet their role varies considerably. Cogitatio Press 2021-12-15 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/4511 10.17645/si.v9i4.4511 Social Inclusion; Vol 9, No 4 (2021): In Good Company? Personal Relationships, Network Embeddedness, and Social Inclusion; 232-242 2183-2803 10.17645/si.i232 eng https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/4511/2439 Copyright (c) 2021 Lara‐Désirée Brinker http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0