This manual has been developed to be used by service providers as a practical guide when working with Immigrants & Refugees that experience homelessness.
Overview
Housing workers need to assess the possible hidden factors of migration to understand the reason for homelessness among migrant individuals. An awareness of the impact of migration, in addition to cultural competence, can help workers move in the right direction when providing housing stabilization services.
The manual is broken into the following sections:
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Cultural Competence
A culturally competent worker is the one that uses a holistic service approach that is service user centered and appropriate for people from any cultural background.
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Assessing the Specific Needs of
Immigrants & Refugees
The initial assessment of a homeless migrant person requires the same considerations as an assessment of a non migrant person. The evaluation of the present circumstances takes precedence over the migration issues i.e.: worker needs to firstly assess safety, access to temporary shelter, access to meals and immediate health concerns.
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Issues to Consider
Includes: important differences between immigrants and refugees, strategies to build supportive services, review service barriers, other considerations.
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Resources
A list of useful websites and reports.
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Process of Adaptation
Reproduction of a section of a COSTI publiction: "Linking Paths: A Guide to Orienting Newcomers to Ontario."
Download A Road To Home:
Working With Homeless
Immigrants & Refugees in PDF format.
