Midway assesment Moses Kuvoame

Moses Kuvoame’s  phd project is titled "In Search of Care: How Street-involved Black and Minority Ethnic Youths in Oslo tackle the Psychoaffective Injuries of Prolonged and Multiple Marginality".

In recent years, social and youth workers as well as other professionals in the field of crime and drug abuse prevention Oslo have registered an increasing participation of black and minority ethnic youths in subcultures in downtown Oslo that are organized around the sale and use of illicit drugs and other criminal activities. Some of these youths were born or grew up in Norway. Others came to Norway either as unaccompanied minor asylum seekers/refugees or through family reunification. They do not constitute a homogeneous group in terms of nationality or social trajectory. Nevertheless, they share certain common characteristics of marginality. Many find themselves at the margins of important social and institutional spheres and a constellation of psychosocial needs seems to characterise the everyday experiences of many of them.

Experiences of multiple and prolonged marginality by young people, if not dealt with, can lead to cumulative existential crises that may result in physical, social and psychological death. The key research questions are therefore how marginalised and street-involved black and minority ethnic youths feel about and tackle the stresses and pains of multiple and prolonged marginality and what factors promote or hinder their care or help-seeking efforts? As a corollary to the key research questions, the study will explore how social service providers view work with this group of young people since the social and welfare services may come to play a crucial role in the transitions of many of these youths. While there are a number of studies in Norway about marginalised and street-involved black and minority ethnic youths, none of these studies has specifically addressed the resources and social supports these youths draw upon to go ahead in life and their actual help-seeking behaviours and pathways.

The study is being carried out through qualitative research tools of participant observation, in-depth qualitative interviews, informal extended conversations and focus groups. The study is funded by the Norwegian Foundation for Health and Rehabilitation.

 

Commentator at the midways assesment is Phillip Lalander, professor at Malmö University, Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle.