Anxiety levels among Ukrainian refugees in Sweden have risen in recent years – today, more than seven in ten report high levels of anxiety. At the same time, a recently completed pilot project shows that low-threshold, peer-support groups can help reduce isolation and strengthen participants’ mental wellbeing. The project Facilitating Refugee Integration through Dedicated Mental Health Support (FRID) has been implemented by Reach for Change, Help Ukraine Gothenburg (HUG) and MIELI Mental Health Finland since April 2025, involving a total of 134 people in Gothenburg, Kungälv, Trollhättan, Helsingborg, Lund and Eslöv. Participants describe reduced loneliness, new social networks and a sense of finally being able to speak openly, often for the first time since leaving Ukraine.
The FRID project used the TOIVO peer support group model, originally developed by MIELI Mental Health Finland for migrant communities in Finland. Each group was led by two trained facilitators, who were also from Ukraine. Participants met once a week for eight sessions. Each meeting combined a shared activity, such as cooking, sports, museum visits or creative activities, with guided reflection on the experience, following the principle “Act/Do - Feel - Reflect”. The approach was adapted to the Swedish context and to the specific needs of Ukrainian participants through collaboration between MIELI Mental Health, Help Ukraine Gothenburg (HUG) and Reach for Change. In total, 134 people took part in the project from Gothenburg, Kungälv, Trollhättan, Helsingborg and Lund between October 2025 and May 2026.
“It was a very important and emotional experience for me, because I realised how important community is for people to feel well. And how small steps and interventions can make such a huge difference to people’s wellbeing and support them in their everyday lives,” says Halyna Romanuik, TOIVO group facilitator, Gothenburg.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, around 49,000 Ukrainians have been granted temporary protection in Sweden. An earlier survey from 2024 by Help Ukraine Gothenburg found that more than half of respondents felt lonely and almost eight in ten experienced high levels of anxiety, an increase from 68 percent in 2023*. At the same time, access to support through the regular healthcare system is often limited by waiting times, a lack of care available in Ukrainian, and complex pathways into the system.
“In the evaluation of the project, all participants confirmed that they had made at least one small change in their daily lives that contributed to improved wellbeing, and we saw the same positive effect among the facilitators. It is a clear demonstration of the power of the approach, when people are given the opportunity to support others, it also strengthens their own wellbeing,” says Mariya Melnyk, Project Manager, Help Ukraine Gothenburg.
“Seeing the TOIVO model work just as well outside Finland, with a new target group and within a different welfare system, was incredibly rewarding and inspiring for us. It demonstrates the potential of the model and how it can be adapted to serve different needs. These are insights and knowledge that other countries and organisations can now build on,” says Melis Ari-Gurhanli, Senior Planning Officer, MIELI Mental Health Finland.
FRID has been funded through the EU’s ESF+ Social Innovation+ initiative and will formally conclude in October 2026. Looking ahead, Reach for Change, HUG and MIELI hope that more organisations will make use of the model. The report now launching publicly has been designed as a practical guide for organisations looking to implement the approach.
“This project shows clearly what social innovation can achieve: new, accessible and low-threshold support tailored to the needs of a specific group, filling a gap that traditional healthcare often has limited capacity to address. But we could not have achieved this on our own. This is the result of bringing together our different areas of expertise and having the courage to build something new together,” says Saga Ekstam, Project Manager, Reach for Change.
*Based on the survey conducted by HUG. Read the full report: Report
The full report is available for download here: Report
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