How to Integrate Refugees
Dec. 10th, 2016 10:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithPut them in housing alongside natives. Facilitate the formation of a community by encouraging people to spend time together and identify common interests. I think that choosing young singles is especially apt because these folks tend not to have strong ties or obligations elsewhere, which means they're open to forming bonds with each other. Given a little luck, this community should see a lot of cross-cultural friendships and romances that will last. \o/ Go thou and do likewise.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-11 02:29 pm (UTC)Did you see my post about the good folk of Torrington in Devon?
Wow!
Date: 2016-12-11 07:55 pm (UTC)I think that a key reason behind resentment of refugees is simply that locals feel strained already. Britain's austerity and America's shabby economy make people feel chronically anxious. When they're already feeling that goods and services don't go far enough, another mouth to feed is the last thing that most people want.
However, this problem is readily solved in two ways. 1) Shore up the areas of lack. If you cleverly accompany refugees with "resettlement funds" to host communities so they can, for example, buy another bus or housing unit or whatever they're short on, the welcome should warm right up. 2) Ask refugees about their skills. Although some of them may be too shattered by trauma to contribute immediately, most of the ones coherent enough to escape into a new nation will be able to pitch in, and a majority of people prefer to support themselves rather than take charity. If the job market can't immediately absorb several dozen people, then consider volunteer projects that would help refugees and locals make friends.
Trotting around "tags" today and ...
Date: 2017-01-22 11:01 pm (UTC)At the sheltered workshop where I once worked, the program set up by the County ideally shuttled applicants through three months of training for jobs "on the outside." In the years I worked there, two young people in their 20's "graduated" and went on to actual jobs. He and she had the youth to overcome their troubled pasts and get on with their lives. The others, well, several groups had people in the 30-60 y.o. range.
Group One were the homeless who started and stopped the program several times. How canny they were about the shelters! I overheard several times conversations about "Shelter Alpha needs four more to meet their quota, let's sleep there tonight" or "Shelter Beta won't allow smoking even in the garden so let's split from that one." These folks were street smart in many ways; they had settled into their lives as homeless and some did not like shelters because of the no-pet rule. You tell me how someone who has nothing wants to give up little Smokey or Bootsie who is a trusted friend! They lived under bridges and so forth and since this is CA, they didn't actually freeze in wintertime, just got pretty uncomfortable in their tarp shelters.
Group Two were slightly "slow," to put it kindly. Something physical or mental was going on and they talked slow and walked slow. They weren't certifiable, though, and lived in halfway homes where they seemed to get along well enough. They could be smart about money, at least enough not to get snookered out of their pay each month. I handled payroll so that impressed me. They could work.
Group Three were the crazies who couldn't get along with anyone for very long. They started fights or didn't take their meds or something and got bounced from the program; sometimes they'd start it again when they calmed. One lady was so self-aware that she told me a few times she "was going off the deep end and needed to hospitalize herself." She'd go into a mental health facility, being so cheerful about it that it broke my heart, and then by golly she'd show up some weeks later at the program. Gotta love her.
Group Four only had the two aforementioned young people. She was okay, but he got really intimidating once when he thought I was "keeping his paycheck from him." He leaned over the desk intently as I checked his records and handed out his paycheck. It was good when he "graduated."
This entry brought memories in a flood! It was the mention of cutting off the age at 28 in the article that started the trickle; it's true that we become entrenched like Pismo clams in the mud in our ways and the young have the best chance of reseeding.
Re: Trotting around "tags" today and ...
Date: 2017-01-24 09:24 am (UTC)Sooth.
>> At the sheltered workshop where I once worked, the program set up by the County ideally shuttled applicants through three months of training for jobs "on the outside."<<
That's a good idea.
>> In the years I worked there, two young people in their 20's "graduated" and went on to actual jobs. He and she had the youth to overcome their troubled pasts and get on with their lives. The others, well, several groups had people in the 30-60 y.o. range. <<
Yay, progress!
>> Group One were the homeless who started and stopped the program several times. <<
It's good to have that option, at least.
>> How canny they were about the shelters! I overheard several times conversations about "Shelter Alpha needs four more to meet their quota, let's sleep there tonight" or "Shelter Beta won't allow smoking even in the garden so let's split from that one." These folks were street smart in many ways; they had settled into their lives as homeless and some did not like shelters because of the no-pet rule. You tell me how someone who has nothing wants to give up little Smokey or Bootsie who is a trusted friend! They lived under bridges and so forth and since this is CA, they didn't actually freeze in wintertime, just got pretty uncomfortable in their tarp shelters.<<
The homeless situation in America is terrible, and getting worse. A majority of shelters are so nasty that nobody wants to go there -- either because they're full of dangerous people, or the rules are abusive in ways that free adults find more onerous than sleeping in the rough. Which means most of the people who claim to be "helping" really aren't. >_<
I've written a lot about the homeless problem in some of my series. There are better solutions. Among the best is the "housing first" approach. Put homeless people in long-term housing and they stop being homeless, which makes it easier to solve many other problems. No strings attached, because that kills housing programs. Just a place of their own. Several places have done this with breathtaking success, but you have to care enough to do what people need, not just whatever you want to do to them.
Re: Trotting around "tags" today and ...
Date: 2017-01-24 09:24 am (UTC)>> Group Two were slightly "slow," to put it kindly. Something physical or mental was going on and they talked slow and walked slow. They weren't certifiable, though, and lived in halfway homes where they seemed to get along well enough. They could be smart about money, at least enough not to get snookered out of their pay each month. I handled payroll so that impressed me. They could work.<<
A lot of people with mental disabilities (or for that matter, physical ones) are capable of contributing to society, but they may need a different environment and a little more support. I've seen a few places that provide a combination of housing, employment, and social support without being institutions that trap people inside and exert too much control over their personal lives. Another option is intentional neighboring, which revives the historic practice of people taking care of family and friends, rather than doing everything through government or paid help. That approach looks at everyone both as a giver and receiver of help in different areas. It's a lot healthier too.
>> Group Three were the crazies who couldn't get along with anyone for very long. They started fights or didn't take their meds or something <<
Some medications have unbearable or even potentially fatal side effects. In that case, one doesn't have a choice of being healthy. One has a choice between different ways to be miserable. :(
>> and got bounced from the program; sometimes they'd start it again when they calmed.<<
That's another good opportunity to work on it when they can.
>> One lady was so self-aware that she told me a few times she "was going off the deep end and needed to hospitalize herself." She'd go into a mental health facility, being so cheerful about it that it broke my heart, and then by golly she'd show up some weeks later at the program. Gotta love her.<<
*sigh* The problem is that mental care is often difficult or impossible to access, and even when people get it, only sometimes help. Hospitals aren't designed to provide the kind of comfort, support, and connections that actually help people get better. They're designed for security and control, with some counseling stuff stuck in. If you look at resilience factors compiled by mental health professionals, little of that is available; if you look at what people with mental issues actually say helps them improve, almost none of that is in there. So problems often don't get fixed.
>>This entry brought memories in a flood! It was the mention of cutting off the age at 28 in the article that started the trickle; it's true that we become entrenched like Pismo clams in the mud in our ways and the young have the best chance of reseeding.<<
Yeah. We need better ways to support people and provide continuity of care. At least in some states the foster care system has quit throwing teens off a cliff at 18 and now offers a choice of several paths to adult independence.
Re: Trotting around "tags" today and ...
Date: 2017-01-24 03:55 pm (UTC)adult independence Yeah, there was a pecking order in the "clients," which was the preferred term in the program. Natural leaders came to the forefront; it was eyeopening for me to see the factions that formed. One group took pub trans and when I did, too, after my car died for good, they'd give me the weirdest looks. I always sat up front near the driver and they'd be in the second third of seats. One said to me after we took the same bus day after day because of our similar work schedules, "Don't you have money for another car?" It just didn't percolate to him that anybody else would want to take the bus if they didn't need to. How to explain that some folks a/do not want a car, b/want to "spare the air," or c/temporarily take it?
Once there was an issue about a pink sweater; a female client wore it and somebody else said she took it from her, etc. That discussion went on for days. A few times clients got mad at their supervisors and dirtied up the PortaPottis on the factory floor ****GROSSNESS ALERT**** by writing names or slogans in poo inside the PortaPottis.
**TECHNICAL QUESTION** Why is the Captcha input box in Cyrillic? *looks over shoulder for Internet Overlords*
Re: Trotting around "tags" today and ...
Date: 2017-01-24 05:27 pm (UTC)That sucks. Even for people with little or no chance of joining mainstream society, warehousing shortchanges their needs.
>> They were kept off the streets during the day and formed a sort of community, though. Plus, they did actually produce, in the way of various jobs the program did. <<
That's a good thing.
>> Once it was sorting nuts and bolts from big bins into smaller bins.<<
Makework, or genuine work like unmixing accidentally mixed things?
>> Yeah, there was a pecking order in the "clients," which was the preferred term in the program. Natural leaders came to the forefront; it was eyeopening for me to see the factions that formed. <<
Human nature in action.
>> One group took pub trans and when I did, too, after my car died for good, they'd give me the weirdest looks. I always sat up front near the driver and they'd be in the second third of seats. One said to me after we took the same bus day after day because of our similar work schedules, "Don't you have money for another car?" It just didn't percolate to him that anybody else would want to take the bus if they didn't need to. How to explain that some folks a/do not want a car, b/want to "spare the air," or c/temporarily take it?<<
Explain like you would to anyone else, just try to adapt vocabulary to audience, and if possible relate it to experiences they typically have. You said they understood basic budgeting; public transit is cheaper than owning a car. Or you might not have the time/energy to look for a car immediately, but plan to do so later.
>>Once there was an issue about a pink sweater; a female client wore it and somebody else said she took it from her, etc. That discussion went on for days.<<
That's pesky.
>> A few times clients got mad at their supervisors and dirtied up the PortaPottis on the factory floor ****GROSSNESS ALERT**** by writing names or slogans in poo inside the PortaPottis.<<
Ordinary people do it too, just not as often. It's how they got movie theaters to stop putting adds inside the toilet stalls. From what I've seen, this type of expression appears most often in people for whom more rational types aren't permitted or don't work. Behavior is communication. Sometimes if you shift what's happening in the background, you can change the behavior. But it takes a lot of attention and work to figure out what needs changing and how.
>> **TECHNICAL QUESTION** Why is the Captcha input box in Cyrillic? *looks over shoulder for Internet Overlords* <<
Probably because LiveJournal is currently owned by Russians, who write in that alphabet.