Unconditional social support: the role of volunteers in the lives of unaccompanied refugee minors on the move in Europe

Unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) on the move in Europe face significant risks to their well-being while being excluded from many formal support systems. In this context, volunteers and civil society organizations often provide essential support. Drawing on a longitudinal qualitative study with 118 URMs interviewed at multiple points along their journeys through Europe, we examine how young refugees themselves perceive and interpret volunteer support. Our findings show that while material and practical support often serve as immediate gateways, URMs particularly value the unconditional aspects of emotional and attachment support. Examined through the lenses of agency and hospitality, we highlight how young people actively navigate volunteer relationships, create international support networks, and contest exclusionary practices tied to conditional formal support. Volunteers' position outside institutional structures enables them to complement formal services and counteract dynamics of exclusion, although their support is not without risks and limitations. We conclude that volunteer support holds a qualitatively unique value beyond being a mere stopgap to formal services, with important implications for both policy and practice in enhancing social inclusion and mental health among URMs in transit.