Medaille Trust has launched a new project in partnership with the UK Home Office and a network of Albanian NGOs to provide wraparound support to Albanian nationals returning to Albania from the UK.
Albanian nationals who are removed or return from the UK face high barriers to reintegration including a lack of support networks and social stigma. As a result, many become highly vulnerable to exploitation and criminal gangs. In the year ending March 2025 there were 2530 forced and 2,395 voluntary returns of Albanian nationals from the UK.
The Medaille Trust reintegration project works with returning Albanians to provide help with access to housing, counselling and psychological support, family reunion, education and employment support, mentoring, and funding and support to set up a business. Support is delivered through the Albanian United Response Against Trafficking (URAT), a network of Albanian NGOs with years of expertise in preventing trafficking and exploitation and safeguarding potential victims.
Launching the project Medaille Trust CEO Dani Wardman said:
We believe that people being returned to their home country from the UK need to be treated with dignity and compassion, and most importantly that they are protected from harm and given the support they need to build a new life back in Albania.
We are delighted to work with our Albanian partners to model a better approach to returns which puts the agency and safety of those returning at its heart.
Details of the project and how to access support (in English and Albanian language resources) can be found at Albania Reintegration Programme - helping you successfully resettle in Albania.
