Refugee Resettlement in Idaho

Who is a Refugee?

Refugee The term refugee means any person who is outside any country of such persons nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to…that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion… The term refugee does not include any person who ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.   --The US Refugee Act of 1980

Global Overview Source: UNHCR

Where do they come from? The top five countries of origin for refugees resettled in Idaho in 2017: Democratic Republic of Congo Bhutan Iraq Syria Afghanistan Other groups resettled here include Various African countries: Burundi, Togo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan and Cameroon Colombians Cubans Burmese/Karen

Process Overview

Who Funds the USRP?

Who Decides who comes to Idaho? Ongoing Quarterly Community Consultation Dialogue with National Offices, State Department Language, community capacity, employment, medical issues, etc. Ultimately we want our clients to succeed!

Refugee Service Providers in Idaho Agency for New Americans (ANA) International Rescue Committee (IRC) Idaho Office for Refugees (IOR) English Language Center (ELC) CSI Refugee Center (CSI)

Impact of Recent Changes to the USRP on Arrivals

Resettlement Agency Role Resettlement Agencies are charged with the basic services that help newly arrived refugees get on their feet: Case Management Employment Immigration Services Orientation/education Connect with appropriate resources Temporary cash assistance Social integration

Refugee Trauma An Overview of refugee traumatic backgrounds, impacts of trauma, things to think about for students…

Trauma: Key aspects Experiencing a threat (and/or injury) to bodily/psychological/spiritual and existential integrity Witnessing threat/injury of another person (physical, psychological, spiritual, existential) Learning of threat/injury of another person (e.g., hearing the story) Feelings of horror, shock Feeling overwhelmed (physically, psychologically, spiritually) Feeling profoundly disconnected Disconnection of body and mind Disconnection from others Disconnection existentially/spiritually (e.g., disconnected from the world, the universe, from the divine) Feeling helpless and a profound loss of control Profound disempowerment Shatters a sense of meaning and trust in the world/universe Impacts the body, brain, and nervous system

Triple Trauma Paradigm (National Partnership for Community Training) Pre-Flight Torture and/or trauma experience in home country Flight Seeking safety; escape and exile; living in refugee camp or host country Post-Flight Resettlement and acculturation in new country

Triple Trauma Paradigm: Post-Flight Resettlement and Acculturation in New Country Failure of resettlement/life in new country to meet expectations Loss of socio-economic status/loss of former lifestyle Economic struggles Limited social support/loss of social support network Stress of adapting to a new culture

Impacts of Trauma – Children Common manifestations of trauma among refugee children Irritability Defiant behavior Hyperactivity Difficulty paying attention, difficulty with concentration Conflicts with peers, aggression Sleep problems Emotionally sensitive, crying a lot Socially isolated and withdrawn from other children “clingy,” “needy,” behavior Difficulty learning/retaining new information at school Loss of achieved developmental milestones

Resettlement Stress: Impact on Family System & Children “Acculturation Gap” Child plays role of interpreter & cultural broker Parent-child conflict & unhealthy family dynamics School Difficulty “catching up” academically Social issues with peers Pressure from parents to succeed academically Dual cultural identity development

Strengths-Based Approach Identify refugees’ strengths. Consider refugees’ strengths from their lives (and functioning) pre-flight Acknowledge refugees’ strengths as survivors Work from refugees’ strengths, in order to help them to find solutions to challenges or barriers.

Concerns? Questions?

Interested in learning more about refugee resettlement? Idaho Office for Refugees www.idahorefugees.org Department of State/PRM http://www.state.gov/j/prm/ Office of Refugee Resettlement http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr BRYCS http://www.brycs.org/ Cultural Orientation http://coresourceexchange.org/

Some Facts to Consider ~65 million “displaced persons” in the world! (half are children!) Out of the nearly 20 million refugees in the world, less than 1 percent are considered for resettlement worldwide.  The U.S. is just one of 28 resettlement countries. The vetting process is long and intense Is there a link between refugees and U. S. crime rates? Yes, 9 out of 10 U. S. cities surveyed become considerably more safe. No fatal terrorist attacks in the U. S commited by refugee View in Slide Show to click on links….

Consider this also… The five wealthiest countries [the U.S., China, Japan, the U.K. and Germany]— which make up half the global economy — are hosting less than 5 per cent of the world’s refugees, while 86 per cent of refugees are in poorer developing countries that are often struggling to meet the needs of their own people.

Conflict: Current Refugee Crisis https://www.crisisgroup.org/global/what-s-driving-global-refugee-crisis

Do refugees themselves consider Boise “welcoming”. In what ways Do refugees themselves consider Boise “welcoming”? In what ways? Where could we improve?