The assumption behind RWI is that the autonomy and integration of migrants can only be achieved through their social inclusion and the development of bonds with the local community. According to RWI, the mobilisation of civil society is an important factor in the process of integrating migrants into society. 

RWI's 'Welcoming Families' family-based reception project - whereby Italian or foreign families already integrated into the community opened their doors to a refugee who did not have (or had lost) access to public reception facilities - was developed in 2015-2016, at a time when the public reception system was dealing with a high number of asylum seekers. Its initial aim was to provide housing assistance to those in need.

Since 2016, RWI has developed a model of inclusion for beneficiaries of international, complementary or temporary protection (BIP/BCP/BTP), built on home accommodation (hosting), co-housing and mentoring. These solutions are seen as a tool for supporting foreigners who do not have a stable housing solution or easy access to the private housing market, and as a broader tool for promoting inclusion and integration through the creation of community ties.

Direct beneficiaries: Beneficiaries of international/complementary/temporary protection, or young adults (former unaccompanied minors) who need support towards autonomy and cannot access the private housing market due to certain (bureaucratic/social) barriers. 

Indirect beneficiaries: The families involved and the local community, which benefit from the wider climate of social cohesion ensured by the support offered by Refugees Welcome’s teams.

Source: Refugees Welcome Italia, 2023

RWI’s work is built on two main pillars: 

• family-based reception (or ‘home accommodation’), for BIP, BCP, BTP

• Mentoring, for both BIP, BCP, BTP and young adults/former unaccompanied foreign minors

Both projects are based on a ‘match’ between the person in need of a house or support and the family (understood, in a wider sense, to include singles, single parents, couples, cohabitants, etc.) or the mentor. In both cases, the RWI website is the first point of contact for those interested in offering/receiving support: RWI staff will then make a phone call and eventually meet the people and the families, decide matches and develop tailor-made pathways for all beneficiaries involved. Before activating the hosting, RWI conducts a suitability assessment of the families based on guidelines developed by the organisation, and provides them with training and orientation. Throughout the period of ‘home accommodation’, RWI staff will accompany both the family and the person through regular meetings and provide legal, logistical and psychological support as needed. 

The target group for ‘home accommodation’ is often made up of beneficiaries of international or national protection who have been accommodated for some time in the public reception system. They have come to know the local context but have not yet achieved full autonomy and independence, and are interested in maintaining links with the local community. The projects normally involve a period of home accommodation of 6 months, which can be extended for up to one year depending on individual circumstances. Host families do not receive remuneration, but RWI can provide economic support for specific activities/needs of the beneficiary (e.g. unexpected medical or university fees). Regular monitoring by RWI allows both the family and the beneficiary to understand and plan the final steps of the placement and to guide the person towards autonomy. Several hosting stories were collected by RWI in 2019: read them here. 

As for the mentoring, it represents a more recent project developed by the organisation. It targets, on the one hand, those BIP/BTP who are not seeking hospitality but wish to have a reference figure - someone who offers guidance and assists with opportunities for integration - and, on the other hand, those who cannot or do not wish to host, but want to engage in other ways in accompanying migrants towards a greater degree of autonomy and social inclusion. RWI is now a partner in two mentoring projects: ‘Side to side’ (Fianco a fianco) with UNICEF; and ‘Community Matching’ with UNHCR.

Since 2016 RWI has established 800 accommodation matches and concluded 500 host experiences.

In 2023, the organisation has so far created 30 local teams of staff/volunteers to support beneficiaries, families and mentors and who advocate for a more inclusive model of reception. In recent years, RWI’s advocacy has inspired the adoption of the ‘Books of inclusive families’ approach by several municipalities, which better allows families to express their availability to host refugees (see: Secondo Welfare).

RWI’s ‘From experiences to a model: Family-based reception as an integration pathway’ project has been evaluated by a team of researchers at the University ‘Rome 3’ (L. Corvo, F. Antonucci, L. Pastore) in 2019. The researchers delivered a model to assess the project in terms of impact on beneficiaries, families, the community and the public administration, and found that one of the most innovative elements of the project was the amplification of social bonds. At the end of the study, some recommendations were made, including a) to grant a subsidy to families taking part in the project, to ensure its long-term sustainability; b) to periodically evaluate the project while it is in place.

Most of the resources (90%) come from EU or national funding, particularly from AMIF (EU) or FAMI (IT). The remaining 10% comes from private foundations and individual donors. Two of the projects developed in recent years, which concern mentoring practices, are supported by international organisations UNHCR and UNICEF. In 2023, RWI published a report giving an account of all its sources of funding.