Context, Caring and Connection: Relational Ethics and Tools for Empowering Newly Arrived Refugees

Each year thousands of refugees arrive in the US through the Department of State (DOS) Refugee Resettlement program.  Through the DOS Reception and Placement program (R&P), administered by nine domestic resettlement agencies, refugees are provided with basic assistance for their first 90 days in the US.  After this short period, newly arrived individuals and families, many of whom have suffered trauma or disease and have limited education or English language training, are transferred to other short-term government assistance programs until they obtain employment and self-sufficiency.  Social workers, health coordinators and other resettlement staff are charged with ensuring that clients can rebuild lives and achieve independence, yet they are often overburdened and under-resourced.  In line with the requirements of the R&P program, staff are trained to follow a checklist model of service delivery:  housing – check; food stamps - check; health insurance – check; medical appointment - check . This model can create problematic power relationships in accessing services.   Drawing from feminist care ethics, conflict resolution, and trauma recovery, this paper explores alternate tools and frameworks for analysis designed to build the capacity of resettlement staff to deliver the required R&P services while simultaneously engaging with clients to promote caring relationships and the rebuilding of social and professional networks.  Illustrated by the experiences of Philadelphia refugee resettlement staff in 2009-2011, this paper demonstrates how feminist care ethics “stresses sensitivity to the multiple relevant considerations in particular contexts…  with an emphasis on actual dialogue that empowers its participants” (Held 2006).