Refugee Resettlement and Macro Practice in the United States

Resettlement-related macro practice reflects a complicated history of immigration and refugee resettlement in the United States, as well as international and domestic policies that shape opportunities and services available to refugees who resettle through these mechanisms. Four intersecting domains of resettlement macro practice are (a) community organizing and community development, (b) advocacy, (c) policy analysis and development, and (d) community-centered management and program planning. To engage meaningfully in macro social work requires a grasp of the history and policies that drive decision-making of individual practitioners and shape the experiences of people resettling to the United States in search of safety and new beginnings. Research and participatory approaches are integral to resettlement macro practice to ensure refugee communities are at the center of all efforts to inform structural and systemic change.

Inclusive Resettlement? Integration Pathways of Resettled Refugees With Disabilities in Germany and Canada

The purpose of this article is to explore the existing intersectional knowledge on integration and resettlement of refugees with disabilities in two of the top five resettlement countries in the world, Germany and Canada. There is limited research on the intersection of migration and disability, especially in the context of refugee resettlement. Reflecting the dominant pathways of migration in each country, what little research there is focuses on asylum seekers in Germany, and immigrants in Canada. The review describes settlement programs in each country. We draw from the global literature around forced migration and disability, as well as disability and migration more broadly in each country, to enhance the limited existing research and conduct an intersectional analysis at the level of systems, discourses and subjective narratives. Findings highlight three dominant themes that weave across all three levels: being a “burden” on society, being invisible, and agency and resistance. Finally, drawing from the theoretical stance of Disability Studies, critical, and holistic integration theories we discuss how this intersectional analysis highlights the importance of reshaping the policies, discourse and definition of integration, and the consequences this can have on research, service delivery, and evaluation of integration and resettlement.

Kastam: Exploring the Architectural Principles of Exchange and Resilience

<p>The Refugee Resettlement situation on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea is in dire need of a humane intervention. The Manus Island Detention Centre was officially permanently closed on the 31st of October 2017 (ABC News), leaving 600 men with three options; moving back to their countries of origin, relocating to the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre or moving and resettling in the United States of America on the basis that they get granted refugee status. The option of relocating to the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre may seem like a viable option to the Australian state but to the 600 men it's a move that would render them vulnerable and in danger. Relocating to the transit centre will only cause more overcrowding and depletion of the already scarce resources. The living conditions of the Manus Island Detention Centrefor refugees and asylum seekers was deemed harsh and inhumane. The conditions of East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre are no different. The lack of bare essentials in these refugee camps such as a constant source of clean water, food, healthcare and accommodation has led to health and psychosocial problems amongst its inmates and if left unaddressed it will worsen further. This has resulted in the refugees becoming increasingly dependent on the Australian and Papua New Guinean states – which treats the centre as a state of exemption. This situation and their isolation from society has also contributed to disempowering the refugees who are increasingly unable to function in day to day life and experiencing difficulty integrating into the Manusian society. This thesis will address this crisis architecturally; its intention is to explore architecture as a medium that will orchestrate the development of better and empowering living opportunities for the refugees and facilitate a sense of community within the Manusian society via a holistic community model. The objective of the model is to firstly enable the refugees to become self-sufficient where they don't have to rely on the resources provided from external sources as the Papua New Guinean and Australian state. Secondly the intention is tofacilitate community integrationby creating opportunities for the refugees and the locals to interact through shared and mutually beneficial opportunities. By developing a sense of community and reliability between the locals and refugees; both parties engaging in a traditional Papua New Guinean practice of Kastam (Otto T.), based on exchange, supportiveness, respect and honour. The thesis aims to test and readdress, through an exploration of architectural principals related to exchange and resilience, the stigma and ideology of refugee resettlement―by moving away from the idea of refugees as reliant on the states that govern them, to the refugees becoming self-sufficient and thereby becoming less of a burdenand more of an asset to the host community.</p>

Kastam: Exploring the Architectural Principles of Exchange and Resilience

<p>The Refugee Resettlement situation on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea is in dire need of a humane intervention. The Manus Island Detention Centre was officially permanently closed on the 31st of October 2017 (ABC News), leaving 600 men with three options; moving back to their countries of origin, relocating to the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre or moving and resettling in the United States of America on the basis that they get granted refugee status. The option of relocating to the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre may seem like a viable option to the Australian state but to the 600 men it's a move that would render them vulnerable and in danger. Relocating to the transit centre will only cause more overcrowding and depletion of the already scarce resources. The living conditions of the Manus Island Detention Centrefor refugees and asylum seekers was deemed harsh and inhumane. The conditions of East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre are no different. The lack of bare essentials in these refugee camps such as a constant source of clean water, food, healthcare and accommodation has led to health and psychosocial problems amongst its inmates and if left unaddressed it will worsen further. This has resulted in the refugees becoming increasingly dependent on the Australian and Papua New Guinean states – which treats the centre as a state of exemption. This situation and their isolation from society has also contributed to disempowering the refugees who are increasingly unable to function in day to day life and experiencing difficulty integrating into the Manusian society. This thesis will address this crisis architecturally; its intention is to explore architecture as a medium that will orchestrate the development of better and empowering living opportunities for the refugees and facilitate a sense of community within the Manusian society via a holistic community model. The objective of the model is to firstly enable the refugees to become self-sufficient where they don't have to rely on the resources provided from external sources as the Papua New Guinean and Australian state. Secondly the intention is tofacilitate community integrationby creating opportunities for the refugees and the locals to interact through shared and mutually beneficial opportunities. By developing a sense of community and reliability between the locals and refugees; both parties engaging in a traditional Papua New Guinean practice of Kastam (Otto T.), based on exchange, supportiveness, respect and honour. The thesis aims to test and readdress, through an exploration of architectural principals related to exchange and resilience, the stigma and ideology of refugee resettlement―by moving away from the idea of refugees as reliant on the states that govern them, to the refugees becoming self-sufficient and thereby becoming less of a burdenand more of an asset to the host community.</p>

Overview of challenges faced by refugees following resettlement in Houston, Texas: a qualitative study at five refugee resettlement agencies

Purpose This paper aims to conduct a qualitative needs assessment to explore the effectiveness of Houston’s refugee resettlement efforts in the areas of employment, health care and education. Design/methodology/approach Using referral sampling, the authors identified refugee community leaders and staff members at the five refugee resettlement agencies in Houston. The authors conducted 29 qualitative interviews with these contacts from February–August 2017. Findings Recently resettled refugees may struggle to find and maintain employment in Houston due to difficulty accessing public transportation. Refugees seeking medical care in Houston often have difficulty navigating the complexities of the health-care system and communicating with their physicians due to language barriers. Finally, refugee children may have trouble adapting to Houston public schools, sometimes because they have limited experience with formal education. This study provided insights into the challenges Houston refugees face during resettlement and these barriers can be mitigated with policies designed specifically to address them. Practical implications The authors recommend decreasing public transportation fees for refugees, supporting programs that donate used vehicles to refugees, expanding access to English as a Second Language classes for refugee children and adults and giving refugees designated time to learn English upon arrival. Originality/value Houston welcomes more resettled refugees than any other American city. However, few studies have explored the barriers refugees face during the resettlement process.

Living in Generosity: The Making of a Refugee Resettlement Centre

<p>Generosity naturally reflects the idea of abundance, larger or plentiful. However, generosity as a language in architecture is vaguely understood, as it has neither a particular scheme nor definite form. This thesis focuses on the idea of generosity in architecture by exploring the language of generosity in providing a generous living for refugees resettling in New Zealand. It concerns the condition of living within a refugee resettlement centre when refugees spend their first six-week orientation program to prepare them for a new life in New Zealand. Through design-led research process, the project takes the concept of elementary geometry from children’s drawing of a house and evolves by extracting the language of generosity to form an architecture. Anything that could be simple to us could mean more to others. Hence, the act of provocation in the simplicity of form, scale, scheme, and colour could transform our perception on “generosity”, and thus it gives the potential for architecture to create an ideal condition of living for future refugees resettling in New Zealand.</p>

Living in Generosity: The Making of a Refugee Resettlement Centre

<p>Generosity naturally reflects the idea of abundance, larger or plentiful. However, generosity as a language in architecture is vaguely understood, as it has neither a particular scheme nor definite form. This thesis focuses on the idea of generosity in architecture by exploring the language of generosity in providing a generous living for refugees resettling in New Zealand. It concerns the condition of living within a refugee resettlement centre when refugees spend their first six-week orientation program to prepare them for a new life in New Zealand. Through design-led research process, the project takes the concept of elementary geometry from children’s drawing of a house and evolves by extracting the language of generosity to form an architecture. Anything that could be simple to us could mean more to others. Hence, the act of provocation in the simplicity of form, scale, scheme, and colour could transform our perception on “generosity”, and thus it gives the potential for architecture to create an ideal condition of living for future refugees resettling in New Zealand.</p>