MG presentation and information:

 

  1. Introduction: Name, Year, Major(s), Project title, Mentor
  2. Overview of presentation:
    1. Definitions
    2. Refugee Migration trends in the US and WA
    3. Major issues facing newly arriving refugees
    4. Current housing options and supporting organizations
    5. Consideration of human rights issues
    6. Future policy suggestions
  3. Definitions:
    1. Migrant: Person who moves from place to place, especially in search of work and family reunification.
    2.  Refugee: Person who flees to another country for refuge or safety, especially in a time of political turmoil
    3. Asylum seeker: A person who is involved in the process of entering into a country legally, either by the country or an embassy located within that country.
  4. Migration trends:
    1. Trends within the US:

·        Must fulfill definition of a refugee as defined in the Refugee Act of 1980 and be a special humanitarian concern to the US, not already be resettled in another country, and be admissible under general US laws.

·        Priority is given to refugees who currently have relatives residing in the US, people who are refugees because of association with US, and any people that are tied to US because of former education or jobs with the government.

    1. Trends within WA state:

 

  • 4th largest destination state in the US.
  • The Washington State Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance estimates that some 40,000 refugees now live in Seattle.
    1. Migration trends within King County and origin countries:
  • 1st destination county in Washington.
  • Largest # of refugees are coming from the countries of Vietnam, Russia, China, and the Philippines.

 

Major problems that newly arriving refugees face:

 

  1. LANGUAGE/ CULTURAL BARRIER: Many refugees are coming from areas that don’t speak English as a 1st language and also experience cultural barriers.
    1. Hard to communicate with people to get services.
    2. Can be easily taken advantage of.
    3.  Issues getting and maintaining living wage jobs.
    4. When the Washington state government deals with refugees, they are required to provide a translator for them. However, refugees that spoke more than 75 languages came to Washington in 1998 and government translators were only able to provide services in 10 languages.
    5. Many refugees who come to the state are not even aware that they are eligible for the limited amount of benefits that they might be granted.
  2. NOT KNOWING AN AREA/ NEIGHBORHOOD:.
    1. Higher migration to areas of similar ethnic composition, thus creating barriers to societal assimilation and integration
  3. JOBS/ EMPLOYMENT:
    1. From language and cultural differences, it’s difficult to get a job.
    2. Slow obtaining of work permits creates additional difficulties.
    3. There is a direct relationship between length of time in the country and employment.
  4. SCHOOLS:

                                                               i.      Difficulties in registering children for school.

                                                             ii.      Children may have trouble learning at public schools because schools are not equipped with teachers that are fluent in the refugees’ native language.

1.      Burden on the ESL programs.

2.      22% of students in Seattle Public School system don’t speak English as a first language.

  1. HOUSING OPTIONS/ KNOWLEDGE:

                                                               i.      Refugees frequently lack the basic knowledge in how to get a place to live.

1.      While they may be set up in a home or shelter either by a government program or through an NGO, they may have trouble understanding how to keep it.

                                                             ii.      Many NGO’s provide short term solutions, but very few long term/ sustainable.

  1. DISCRIMINATION:

                                                               i.      People discriminate against refugees in the job market because of language difficulties, trouble with obtaining work permits, and cultural differences towards job expectations.

                                                             ii.      People discriminate in the social world because of feeling that their current [social] environment may be threatened, increased job competition, perceived social service cuts, overcrowding in schools, and tax increases for refugee benefits.

1.      Post 9/11 distrust towards those of different ethnic backgrounds by some in individuals.

  1. LACK OF SUSTAINED SOCIAL NET:

                                                               i.      Health care: the longer that refugees are here, the worse their health becomes.

1.      Increasing number of refugees with AIDS.

2.      Growing mental health concerns as more victims of war and torture are arriving.

3.      The narrow scope of the Healthy Families Initiative set-aside does not meet the pressing needs of many refugee communities across the country.

                                                             ii.      Refugees are only granted governmental assistance for 4-8 months from their entry date. Upon entrance, they may be eligible for the following programs in the following areas:

1.      Cash

2.      Medical assistance

3.      Social services

4.      agency matching grant programs

5.      Targeted assistance grant programs

 

  1. CURRENT HOUSING OPTIONS AND RESOURCES:

Religious: Catholic Community Services, Lutheran Alliance to Create Housing

 

- Provide ESL services, tutoring, mentoring, marriage counseling, job assistance training, shelter, and occasionally food.

 

Non-religious international organizations: International Rescue Committee, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

 

Many of these organizations have offices within Seattle. UNHCR is a major partner within the Federal system and is responsible for large amounts of coordination an and policy work.

- Concentrate primarily in logistics, work within foreign countries, and resettlement policies within specific areas.

 

Non-religious national organizations: Language Institute for Refugees, US Committee for Refugees

 

- Work with local organizations to provide a national support base, primarily through funding and research.

 

Non-religious regional organizations: Refugee Women’s Alliance, Northwest Justice Project

- Where most of the local work gets done. These groups work directly with the refugees in attempting to get them settled into their new environment, and unlike many other organizations, can provide more personal long term solutions.

 

GOVERNMENT:

 

Government organizations: Washington State Office of Refugee and Immigration Assistance, Office of Refugee Resettlement

- Provide lending opportunities for people attempting to purchase homes, determine the number of refugees that can be admitted, process paperwork, and administer national and state run programs.

 

CURRENT HOUSING ISSUES:

  1. SHA waiting list too long.
    1. Not enough low income housing- priority to people currently waiting.    
  2. Costs too much (many pay 30-50% of their gross income on housing.)
    1. Government subsidies that are provided don’t last long enough to obtain permanent housing.
  3. Difficulties obtaining Section 8 vouchers (one of the main options for low income.)
  4. Subsidies that are provided are in a lump sum of money that is not ear marked for specific costs, making it difficult for people to pay for all things that they need.
  5. MAA’s are being depended upon to provide social services, yet the subsidies that they are being given by the government are nowhere near to being enough to cover the costs that they incur.

a. Pay differences for personnel within private v. public sector work.           

  1. Can’t obtain loans.
    1. No SSN
    2. People unwilling to lend because of lack of economic resources.
    3. Unable to produce proof of employment.
    4. Not aware of their rights                                  

 

HOUSING CONCERNS- HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES:

UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 25.

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing…

WHY does this matter?: Housing is one of the most basic needs of a human in order to survive, is it a human rights violation for the government to not ensure that they can provide resources adequate enough to help each refugee until they are capable of subsisting on their own? At this point in time, we are admitting WAY too many people in proportion to the amount of funds that we have to support them.

 

MAIN QUESTION: Are housing needs being met?

ANSWER: NO. Not for a sustained period of time. The amount of time that assistance is provided is only for 4-8 months; not enough to fully equip a refugee, especially a minor, to function on their own without assistance.

 

POLICY SUGGESTIONS:

 

  1. Increase cooperation between different NGO’s providing similar services.
  2. Better accountability between independent organizations and federal government.
  3. Make the assistance program wider in scope to make it beneficial for more people.
  4. Strengthen poverty reduction programs in areas currently comprised of refugees and immigrants.

1.      Introduce wider based mentor programs

2.      Increase health care coverage

  1. Streamline application process to make it easier to:

1.      Get a work visa/ permit sooner

2.      Discourage illegal immigration

3.      Guarantee certain support   for those coming in

  1. Adapt the current program of awarding sums of money as support in order to:

1.      Make it easier for people to obtain housing

2.      Make sure that they are not choosing between food, housing, and other essentials because of money concerns

3.      Make sure that resources are not misused