Enabling Resilience supports North Korean people to recover their mental and physical health, so they can overcome the day-to-day barriers they face in their efforts to build new lives.
Reaching safety is only the first step. What follows can be a far more complex challenge: rebuilding physical health, emotional resilience, confidence, and ultimately a sense of choice in life.
Many escapees arrive carrying the ongoing impacts of trauma — anxiety, mistrust of authorities, and isolation — which cannot be resolved through paperwork alone. At the heart of this process is recovery: a slow but profound transformation.
Our Enabling Resilience programme is staffed by Korean-speaking mental health professionals, designed expressly to address the wellbeing of North Korean people as they settle into life in the UK.
Through one-to-one casework and peer-led community activities, we help people recover their health, reduce isolation, and build the confidence and belonging that make independence possible.
Tailored support with physical health, managing bills, benefits and the practical steps of settling in the UK.
Korean-speaking professionals support people through the ongoing impacts of trauma, anxiety and isolation.
From dance to table tennis, singing and guitar — led by North Korean refugees themselves, reducing isolation and building belonging.
In 2025, our casework and wellbeing groups reached more people than ever — the foundation of community resilience.
Language, not waiting times, is the biggest barrier to NHS care for North Korean escapees in our survey. Read our findings and five recommendations for change.
Download the policy note ↓
Your support funds the casework, wellbeing and community that help people heal.
Connect: North Korea
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