• To enlighten the refugees on their professional choices and their project in France, on whether or not to engage in this sector, to discover the constraints beyond the passion, to provide them with a maximum of information to help them decide.
• Some people (albeit few) have gone all the way and are continuing on their way; others have changed their project and chosen something else more suited to their needs at the time, with full knowledge of the facts.
• To discover very committed peer helpers and people to whom refugees can turn for help.

identify themselves.

• A certain chemistry between some refugees and other actors, which led to the opening of doors
• Mobilisation of actors, creation of new partnerships that can be useful to refugees
• The appropriation of the concept of peer support within the Integration Unit of the COS Foundation and the

the prospect of developing it as a method of support

• To create a project dynamic within the team

« We can really see the difference with a peer helper or not, in the workshops we run: he is in a role where he « authorises », doesn’t bring the same thing at all (he asks questions, calms down, it’s much less top-down ».

« It completes the speech given by the professional because we have not experienced this journey, we give technical information; it has a function of encouragement, by telling them « you see I have been there« .

« One of the highlights was the exchange with the infa, the restaurant owners and peer carers; we had round tables where each group exchanged views with a speaker, which was very rich.

The assessment carried out following the 3 collective sessions bringing together all the actors lists the strong points of the meeting

• Collective energy Ability of peer helpers to talk about their project, to retrace their journey for some
• Strong involvement of peer helpers and newcomers
• Effort and complementarity
• Nice mix between professionals and peer helpers between technical knowledge and practical experience
• Consistency in the work of IPCs/Coordinator/Project Leader
• Trust between team members and participants
• Peer helpers, partners and the project team had a good understanding of the project, which allowed for complementary interventions by the partners, even if there was not necessarily a precise framework
• Feedback from two refugees who were happy to have met professionals, to have understood the world of cooking, jobs, training and the interest of the meeting.
• Great plurality of profiles of newcomers: richness on the sharing of paths, the sharing of an example of a newcomer who became a peer helper
• The dynamics of putting peer helpers in the position of professionals