Early this month, Bräcke diakoni and Gothenburg City Mission, members of the National Association for City Missions in Sweden, launched Fairways. That is a new joint-stock company aimed at running a new form of non-profit asylum accommodation called “commitment homes”. The investment is national, and focuses on providing more homelike units and close contact between asylum seekers and civil society to create better conditions for integration. The Church of Sweden has decided to grant Fairways 2,5 million Swedish kronor to ensure startup and development.
There is a great need for new, more homelike accommodation, combined with an increased focus on additional services to strengthen the residents’ possibilities in society. As a result, Fairways’ first step is to open asylum accommodation where different forms of support, including education and knowledge of the labor market, are included. The concept enables continued cooperation with civil society’s different local actors, particularly parishes within the Church of Sweden.
Fairways will be run on the basis of diaconal values, be open to all faiths and have a clear profile of high quality in all processes. Regardless of whether or not the asylum seekers get to stay in Sweden, all who live in commitment homes will be better equipped after some time there.