Rethinking Refugee Resettlement
A Call for Place-Based Homemaking Approaches
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18060/28805Keywords:
refugees, home, homemaking, place, resettlement, social workAbstract
Social workers have a vital role supporting refugees resettling in Canada, however current practice approaches are limited in their capacity to address place-based (social and material) barriers and opportunities refugees face in resettlement contexts. In fact, social work has always specialized in social interventions over material or spatial interventions, resulting in only partial responses to hardships faced by structurally vulnerable communities, such as refugees. Homemaking is a key avenue to explore refugee resettlement holistically, taking into consideration place-based, social and material needs and desires of refugees to make home in new places. This article proposes social workers working alongside refugees take up a homemaking practice approach to meet the unique needs of refugees to improve their resettlement conditions.
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