Policy & Practice | Summer 2023

“How We Do

What We Do”

Enhancing Equity for Refugee and Immigrant Communities Through Expert Staffing

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awareness of the consequences of programming and interventions that are unsound, or which do not meaningfully engage the full scope of displaced persons’ needs and experiences. Certainly, our collective systems have much to learn about the experiences endured leading up to migrants’ arrival, such as people having endured abusive power relations, trafficking, prolonged periods of deprivation and uncertainty, and many other factors. Furthermore, each crisis varies in its dynamics, and populations may have coping strate gies that differ from each other; however, it will be important to remain attuned to the role of human services agencies and their partners in supporting the evolving needs of these communities, which can also change depending on the amount of time elapsed since arrival. Certainly, many of the domestic challenges affecting refugee and immigrants’ access to well being, as well as social and economic mobility, are reflective of long-standing gaps in social services. Yet despite their enduring nature, and given the many challenges inherent to surfacing this information, these obstacles have not always been documented in sufficient detail for the development of truly targeted services (save for small-scale academic products, national surveys lacking sufficient depth, and similar tools). Despite valiant efforts, many of the resources that do exist are often lacking in stringent method ology, and they involve limited engagement of the target populations. It is, therefore, challenging for individuals working in this corner of advocacy to validate the true level of urgency around the need to develop more nuanced supports to these populations at critical junctures in their integration.

hose that advocate on behalf of immi grants and the displaced often face a battle on two fronts. They have the dual task of directly supporting these com munities, while also working to advance

the internal understanding of the systems in which they are employed about the complexity of these populations’ needs in order to better position their agencies to assist these groups. The public at large is familiar with the general contours of the push factors that compel popula tions into flight, with the idea of displacement conjuring up hazy images of war, chaos, and crowded camps. In recent times, the world has also had increasingly immediate and intimate access to unfolding global events through the proliferation of social media. This visibility has allowed for heightened awareness of and empathy for the experiences of those caught in interstate conflict or other disasters. Yet, experiences of displacement are highly diverse, and at times, migrants’ experiences may not align with these assumptions. At other times, they may indeed align, and the sum of their experiences may go well beyond these more overt factors. However, less understood among the general public is how post-migration barriers in the des tination country are often cited by survivors as being at least (if not equally) as significant to mental health and well-being as the challenges experienced in the country of origin. Fortunately, among service providers of a variety of different types, there is growing understanding about the impact of challenges that arise following immigra tion and resettlement. This includes a heightened

By Amaya Alexandra Ramos, MSW, CPH, MA

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Summer 2023 Policy & Practice