1.4: Strategies for Working with Undocumented and Refugee Families Presented by Rachele King, Minnesota Council of Churches (Minneapolis, MN) and Hyojin Im, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

1. 1
HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING
INSTABILITY AMONG REFUGEE
FAMILIES IN TWIN CITIES
Rachele King, Minnesota Council of Churches
&
Hyojin Im, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
* Acknowledgement to Heading Home Hennepin, Refugee Housing Council,
Annie E. Casey Foundation and Minnesota Family Housing Fund

2. Refugees come to Minnesota having survived 2
unimaginable trauma. Imagine for a moment:
 You flee your homeland…
 You survive…
 You don’t know what your future holds…
 You struggle…
 You are offered an opportunity…
 You are told that you will be going to Minnesota...
 You don’t know …
 You hope…

3. 3
Definition of Refugee
A person who has been forced
to flee his/her homeland and
is unable to return because
she or he has experienced
persecution or has a well-
founded fear of persecution.

4. 4
Persecution based on:
 Race
 Religion
 Nationality
 Membership of a
particular social group
 Political opinion

5. 5
The Life of a Refugee
 Stuck in limbo
 Little or no opportunity to pursue education or stable
employment
 Residing in refugee camps with unsafe conditions
 Violence
 Disease

6. 6
The Life of a Refugee
Kakuma
Refugee
Camp in
Kenya

7. 7
Refugee Realities: Refugees often stay in
protracted refugee situations for years or even
decades. Less than ½ of 1% of are
permanently resettled globally in a year.
Photo Courtesy of UNHCR

8. 8
Kakuma, Kenya

9. 9
Refugee resettlement is a Humanitarian
Program of the US Government through the
Department of State (PRM)
Home country is unwilling or unable to protect them.
The place they live does not offer a durable solution.

10. Being approved to come to the 10
USA
 Several interviews by Non governmental organizations
 Department of Homeland security – Refugee Corps
interviews to determine refugee status
 DNA testing (New)
 Security checks
 Health screenings
 Cultural orientation
 Travel Loan

11. Nine national agencies contracted by the US Department of State11
to provide “initial reception and placement” services to newly
arrived refugees through an allocation process.
.

12. Every primary refugee arrival arrives through a
12
resettlement agency.

13. “Refugee” or “Asylee” is a distinct 13
immigration status in the USA
 Work authorized upon arrival
 Indefinite status upon arrival
 Path to US Citizenship
 Eligible for benefits, like a US Citizen.
 Specialized services may be available (vary from
state to state).

14. 14
26 nationalities we have worked with since 2007.
 Afghanistan  Nigeria  Ukraine
 Burma  Somalia  Uzbekistan
 Bhutan Vietnam
 Sudan 
 Cambodia
 Tibet  Moldova
 Democratic Republic of
Congo  Togo  Zambia
 Eretria  Uganda  Zimbabwe
 Ethiopia
 Hmong
 Iraq
 Indonesia
 Kenya
 Liberia
 Nepal

15. 15
What happens when…
… your hopes are not realized?
What happens if your housing is not sustainable?
What happens when you are not able to support your
family?
What happens when you are unsure how to best help
your children?
What happens when your hope fades?

16. 16
The first refugee homeless crisis in MN
 In 2006 60 refugee families moved to a local shelter.
 The response: The MN Council of Churches Refugee
Supportive Housing Network (RSHN) : A successful model of
helping the most vulnerable among us achieve Housing
Stability.
 Since that time, MCC has worked with more than 200 refugee
families (more than 1,000 individuals) who were homeless, or
at risk to become homeless.

17. A story
17
 “UNHCR brought us to the U.S. and to North Carolina on October
27th in 2009. We didn‟t know anybody and there aren‟t many
Somalis there. Only about 10 Somalis [were in town]. They were all
busy running after their lives and jobs. The resettlement agency paid
for rent for the first six months and then we were asked to pay rent.
We were getting $300 for public assistance and the rent was $650.
[......] Life there was hard as we didn‟t have any support. It was OK
until my child got sick and we didn‟t have anybody to help us. We
didn‟t have diapers for kids for 3 months because no one helped us.
[......] We heard about Minnesota and borrowed money from mosque
for bus fare although knowing no one here [in Minnesota]. A Somali
taxi driver let us sleep with them for one night and dropped us off
here [in the homeless shelter] in the next morning.” (43, a Somali man
with 4 kids and a wife, who resettled in October 2009)

18. Homeless Refugees?
18
“It may be the first case
like this,” State
Refugee Coordinator
Marlene Myers said
this week, “but it won‟t
be the last.”
First a refugee now
homeless (Nov. 28th, 2009,
News & Records)

19. Refugee Families Struggling with Housing
19
 Increase in housing insecurity and homelessness
among refugee populations
 Few empirical studies or reports on refugee housing
issues in the U.S.
 Little is known about current status, etiology, unique
challenges or risk/preventive factors of refugee
homelessness: “Hidden homelessness”
 Policy gap: No housing policy specific for refugee
populations

20. Community-Based Research
20
 Growing needs to understand:
 currentstatus of housing insecurity among refugees
 unique challenges and risk factors for homelessness
among refugee families
 How to serve homeless refugee families (culturally
responsive service provision)
 How to intervene and prevent refugee
homelessness (policy intervention)

21. Community-Based Research
21
 Refugee Housing Council & Heading Home
Hennepin collaborated with University of Minnesota
School of Social Work and Center for Urban and
Regional Affairs
 Survey with 250 refugees from five ethnic groups,
Somali, Karen, Hmong, Liberian & Oromo, who
reside in Twin Cities (March – May 2008)
 Interviews with 17 homeless refugee families
(Somali, Hmong, Congolese, Iraqi & Sudanese) in a
private homeless shelter in Minneapolis (April 2010)

22. Housing Stability:
Length of stay (1st, 2nd and current places)
22
Duration in the 1st place
Duration in the 2nd place
Duration in current place
7.0
4.4
7
3.3
6 2.7
5 2.2
4.9
4 0.9
3.6 3.1
3 2.5
2 0.6 2
3.1
1 1.6 1.9 1.7
0 0.6 0.8
Yrs Somali Hmong Karen Liberian Oromo Total

23. Housing Stability:
Move frequency and time taken to own house
23
Move frequency Time taken to live in "own" place*
Number of housing crisis (yrs)
3.5 3.35 4.5 4.16
4
3
2.54 2.48 2.54 3.5
2.5 2.34 3
2 2.5
1.62 1.82
1.5 2
1.36 1.32
1.5
1 1.07
1
0.5 0.3 0.3
0.5 0.3
0.2 0.5 0.2
0.1
0 0
Somali
Somali
Hmong
Hmong
Oromo
Oromo
Total
Total
Karen
Karen
Liberian
Liberian
* The meaning of living in “own” place differs from a respondent’s perception and understanding. It
does not only refer to “buying a house and legally own the property” but also includes the meaning
of “paying rent for the house themselves.”

24. Housing Stability:
Reason for moving
24

25. Housing Stability:
Housing crisis
25
Crisis
doubleup shelter discord no_crisis No crisis
100% 7%
90% 18% 14% 19%
29% 25%
80%
no 70%
crisis 60%
79% 50%
40%
30%
discord double 20%
shelter
4% up 10%
6%
11% 0% Somali
Hmong
Oromo
Total
Karen
Liberian

26. Housing Stability:
The greatest difficulty in finding a house
26
Language barrier
Small APT
No proper house available
Can't live with all family members
Others
Expensive rent
Language barrier
Expensive rent 28%
41%
Small APT
No proper house 18%
available
10%
Others Can't live with all
2% family members
1%

27. Social Services & Help-Seeking:
Help-seeking intention & helping sources
27
100%
90% Myself & others
80% People in my church or
70% mosque
County social service
60% program
Community non-profit
50% agency
Resettlement agency
40%
30% Friends and neighbors
20% Family or relatives
10%
0%
helping source for helping source for
current house housing problem

28. Social Services:
Barriers to using social services
28
Bad experience Lack of cultural understanding
Lack of info on services Can't trust
Not very helpful Language barrier
Not very
Lack of info Can't trust
helpful
on services 4%
10%
17%
Lack of
cultural
understandin
g Language
17% Bad barrier
experience 41%
11%

29. What survey informed includes:
29
 Stability of refugees‟ first housing is associated with future
success in housing.
 Help-seeking intention and trust is negatively associated
with accessibility to social services
 Newly resettled refugees have more expectations and trust in
social services, but also more language barriers and
transportation issues that bar social service access. They also
have less informal social support.
 The longer refugees stay in the U.S., the less they trust social
service agencies and develop more informal helping-sources.
 Housing is too expensive to solve informally.
 Lack of ethnic community‟s support matters.
 Marginalized groups. e.g. Togolese

30. An Ecology of Migration and Resettlement
30
Pre-migration Post-
Migration Social
(War & (refugee migration
Political Integration
camps) (Resettlement)
Violence)

31. Unique Risk Factors (Pre-Migration)
31
 Traumatic events
 “It was very scary during the move from Laos to Thai. All I could
recall was my head kept dipping in the water preventing me from
seeing much. I could hear the gun shots and see the sparks when a
shot was fired. If a person was hit by the bullet, that person is
dead.” (40, a Hmong single mother with 9 children recalling when
she was 7)
 Family separation of loss of family
 “During the war, I was separated from my kids for one year. My four
older boys got lost and my late husband went back to the war zone to
find them. Eventually, I found my 4 older boys, but my husband died
when he went back to look for them.”

32. Pre-migration
32
 Different housing/residential culture
 “There are major differences in the systems. Back home if you find a
place, you can move in the same day and pay the deposit at the end of
the month. Here you have to do a background check, rent history and must
pay the first month‟s rent and deposit on the same day.”
 “I was born in camp and have never paid a rent. The facility was very
poor but it was just stable. I‟ve never worried about a place to stay at
least. I didn‟t expect to pay a rent before (coming here).”
 “The place we lived in the refugee camp was a semi-permanent structure
that isn‟t suitable for any human being. What we have here is more
decent. But the issue is stability. We didn‟t feel any pressure and restriction
in the camp. We were free although the conditions were pathetic. Children
were free to play wherever they want and they were familiar with
everything.”

33. Risk factors - Migration
33
 No real life – lack of education, no job skills, etc.
 “There was really no good life in the refuge camp. We were
not living and we were not dead. We were afraid constantly
of either going to jail or being killed. Nobody can visit you
there. Here we found safety which is very important for us. So
in a sense we traded safety to become homeless.” (44, a
Somali male with 7 children and a wife)
 “What we could do was just sewing. That was the only work
that we could find in the camp. I couldn‟t find that kind of job
here [in the U.S.], so I am still struggling. I even cannot read a
letter and cannot speak English.” (40, a Hmong mother with 9
children)

34. Migration
34
 Mistrust in health professionals
 “My uncle had taken his daughter to the hospital and
brought her back dead a couple of days later. She couldn't
have died. She only had a bad headache. They [Thai
doctors/nurses] must have killed her for her organs or blood.
We will never know.”

35. Resettlement - Arrival
35
 Relief and gratitude
 “[when I first came to the U.S.] I was happy and did not expect to have
any problems with finding a home. I was grateful to the U.S. because I
didn‟t have a husband and Americans seemed to become my extended
family.” (45, A single Somali women with 7 children)
 Gap between expectations and realities
 “We were happy for a little bit, then we realized the housing problem
and then we were really stressed. The older kids would see me upset
and wondering where we would all end up. And then, they start to
worry. They told me it was better in the refugee camp because we had
free shelter and why I brought them here.” (Somali parents with 7
children)

36. Resettlement – Early stage
36
 Language barriers
 No transportation
 Lack of information/orientation
 Lack of support: We came to the U.S. on November 11th, 2009 at
St. Louis, MO. The international Institute helped us move to an
apartment. When they paid for the first 2 months they told us to
pay from then on. We were getting $500 cash from the
government and the rent was $800. There were nobody to help
buy groceries, we had food stamp but my kids were hungry
because we did not know where to find a grocery store and how
to get there. ” (wife-41 and huband-44 with 7 children, staying in
the U.S. for 5 months)

37. Resettlement – Early stage
37
 Barriers to service access
 “We had access to health care there provided by UNHCR. If there is
lack of health care it is in the U.S. not in the refugee camps.” (43,
Somali man with 4 children, who has stayed in the U.S. for six months)
 No cultural community/ lack of interpretation services
 “There were only ten Somalis in town. I couldn‟t get an interpreter at
the hospital when my kid was sick.”
 Loss of social support (even from camp)
 “We got along with the residents of the camp. They were all Somali.
We relied on each other. They would give you food when you run out
and vice versa. They were there for us and we were there for us when
needed. Now I have no one with me.”

38. Resettlement – Early stage
38
 Loss of social support
 “I don‟t have a chance, time, energy or transportation to
maintain a social life. It‟s just me and my kids. ...... In my
country, you had a chance to socialize, but there is just no
time in America. Twelve hours here is like one hour back
home. It is because I have no help. Help even comes in the
form of social activity, but nobody has time here because
they are busy with their own lives.”

39. Resettlement – Secondary migration
39
 Unable to get proper services/interventions
 “Arizona was our first settlement when we came to the US. The
agencies that resettled us had prepared an apartment for us in
which they paid the rent for the first three month. The kids were
enrolled in school and were away the most part of the day. It
was a very strange and new environment for us at first. I didn‟t
know where to start life. I wanted to work and support my family
both here and back home but wasn‟t able to. The three months
ended and I had to come up with half of the four month rent
which was $310. I didn't have any means in mind to pay that
amount. I then decided to leave for Minnesota and even then
didn‟t have any means to travel. The few Somalis we met there
helped and contributed to our bus fare to Minnesota.”

40. Secondary migration
40
 “I first arrive in Portland, Maine. I left Maine because I got sick and needed
help with my disabled son, so I was looking for Somalis. I came to Boston to
have surgery [for my son]. When I had surgery, people tried to take my kids
from me so I got scared. There were no interpreters and no Somalis. I went to
Boston because I was told I would find a good doctor for my disabled son,
but I didn‟t end up finding one. I regret leaving Maine because I was given a
5 bedroom home with a ramp. ... ... When I came to Boston, I went to a
shelter and the welfare office. The welfare office put us in a hotel that
resembled a shelter, and it was expensive so the government took us to
„western hotel‟‟. We stayed there for 4 months and we could not get a home
because of the same issue that we had in Maine. Finally a few Somali
families put some money together for us so that we could come to Minnesota.
When I came to Minnesota, I encountered problems of conflict because 8
people cannot live in one family. ... ... I have been looking for a house for 4
months.” (38, A single Somali mother with 7 sons)

41. Resettlement – Later stage
41
 Loss of job
 “I worked for the company for six years. A new manager didn‟t like
me and he fired me. When I tried to find a new job, he refused to
write a reference letter for me. I applied for so many jobs but
couldn‟t find one. I was kicked out three months after then.” (41, a
Congolese mother with 3 children, who have stayed in the U.S. for 10
years)
 Family conflict (domestic violence)
 “My husband did not only steal my bank card where welfare for my
kids deposit, but also threatened my brother whom I lived together
and said he would kill him [my brother] if he wouldn‟t leave the house
by that night. I left the house with three of my kids that night.”

42. Resettlement – Later stage
42
 Family conflict (due to cultural issues)
 “After I got married to him [who is a Christian], my
family don‟t talk to me. My mom and my brothers
believe in shamanism. It took almost five years to have
conversation with my mom but I don‟t feel really close
to her. Maybe so does she. My brother lives in a four-
bedroom house with his wife. But they don‟t know me
that I am staying in this place [homeless shelter].” (38, a
Lao women with 3 kids, who stayed in the U.S. for 26
years)

43. Living as a homeless
43
 “In the refugee camps, we only had to had fear and
hunger. We have to pay off the crops. However, we are
worst of here [in the U.S.] because we don‟t know the
language, we can‟t defend ourselves. My children get
beat up but they get in trouble because they can‟t
speak the language.” (42, a Somali father of 8
children)

44. Living in a shelter
44
 Strict regulations & distress
 “It [the shelter] is obviously better looking than what we called
home for 19 years [refuge camps]. But it‟s not restful at all and I
would say our shanty hut was more restful because we didn‟t
have to worry about being kicked out the following morning.
Because of the strict rules, I have to constantly monitor the
children‟s movement and make sure they don‟t raise their voices
high enough to attract attention, make sure they don‟t jump
around and break anything that will have us kicked out. These
restrictions have really put me and the children in a prison-like
confinement. I barely get any sleep because of worrying about
the situation.” (38, Somali single woman with 7 sons including one
with physical disabilities)

45. Impact of housing insecurity
45
 Mental health issues (both parents and children)
 “The only thing I would say is (that) worrying is unstableness of
shelter. We are stressed and constantly worried about when
our time will expire and be kicked out of the shelter.” (38, a
Hmong mother with eleven children)
 “We were practically helpless when we were told to pay a
half of the fourth month‟s rent in Arizona. I didn‟t have any
way of paying that amount by myself. The kids looked wary
and always asked what would happen next. I learned through
people that I would find more community support in Minnesota
and therefore decided to pack and leave for Minnesota.” (41,
a single Somali mother with seven children)

46. Impact of housing insecurity
46
 Negative change in family relationships
 “They [my kids] perceive me differently because I tend to be
extra harsh and strict on them about playing around and
touching things that might result in us being kicked out of this
place. I‟m forced to keep a constant eye on them.”
 Distrust in service systems
 “There are a lot of empty houses out there. There is not a
single small one for me and my kids. Company can give you a
hard time. School teachers give you a hard time. Neighbors
give you a hard time. America gives you a hard time.”

47. Strengths and Preventive Factors
47
 Survivals of tremendous atrocities
 Stable family systems before migration (resilience)
 Children with great resilience and cultural
adjustment (a “cultural broker” between parents
and social systems)
 Informal helping sources within the community (ex.
extended families and/or clan)
 Connected with social system (until losing the
connection after benefits are over)

48. Implications
48
 Refugee homelessness is better understood in the
contexts of forced migration and resettlement
process.
 Unique backgrounds of each refugee group should be
considered
 Integral policy and services for supporting
resettlement process
 Health/mental health, education, employment &
acculturation are highly associated with housing
 Culturally sensitive housing support
 Understand family structure, strengthening refugee
community

49. Implications
49
 Understanding change in needs
 Early stage (arrival – less than a year)
 transportation, language & social support for service access
 cultural orientation
 secondary migration
 Integral services (ex. Case management)
 Later stage (after five years)
 more resources
 Trust
 strengthening families and communities

50. Toward Stable Housing
50
• Culturally responsive,
Linking integral policy intervention
• Services relevant to
Policy/Services changing needs
• Connecting resources
Bridging between refugee and host
communities
Communities • Intercultural capacity
building
• Informal social support
Bonding matters (building healthy
community)
Families • Strengthening families in
social integration process

51. RSHN Success Stories: Fartun
51
 Fartun is a 24 year refugee mother who was trying to support her three young
children while her husband tried to find work in another state. Through RSHN
she was able to save her housing, which helped create the stability she needed
to be able to attend school and search for a job. Within 5 months Fartun found
employment and has maintained it since. What I find most astonishing is how
Fartun has been able to rebound from some very unfortunate events and gain
strength and self-confidence with each one. Weeks after finding employment
her husband was killed in a car accident. Fartun has since moved to a new
apartment, gotten her driver‟s permit and is practicing for her driver‟s test, and
has improved her English skills. In the 11 months Fartun has been in this program
she has gone from very, very limited English to helping her case manager and
others interpret for other clients during home visits and workshops. She attends
our Women‟s Group and helps other women in similar situations find the
resources they need to improve their situations. Despite her hardships, her self-
confidence continues to soar.

52. RSHN Success story: Hibaq
52
 Hibaq was a 20 year old refugee woman who was living on the street when
she was enrolled into RSHN. Every night she would find a different friend‟s car
to sleep in while she applied and waited to be approved for housing. She was
moved into housing a month later. Since she moved into housing 3 months ago
she has gone from no English to having basic conversation with her case
manager in English. She attended Ready for Success and received clothing and
quickly found a part time job. Although her employment ended due to her
FedEx branch closing, she has been meeting with her employment counselor
multiple times a week to find a new income. She attends our Women‟s Support
Groups and is always waiting at the door when we pick her up. All of this shows
her progress on her goals, but what I find the most impressive is the level of
self-confidence she has gained from this experience. Hibaq now walks around
with a light in her eyes that was absent when she was enrolled. She has
absolutely blossomed during her participation in this program!

53. RSHN Success: “Moua”
53
 In 2006, at age 17, “Moua” arrived to the United states with his
parents and 4 younger siblings. Three years later, when he was 20,
both of his parents died in a car crash and he and his 18 year old wife
became guardian of his younger siblings ages 9,11,13 and 15 years
old. When MCC met “Moua” and his wife in November of 2009 they
were expecting their first child at any moment. They moved into an
affordable 3 bedroom apartment secured through the RSHN program
the day their child was born. “Moua” and his wife and siblings were
all born in a refugee camp in Thailand. This was the first permanent
housing of their lifetime. In April of 2011 the family graduated from
the RSHN program due to increase in income. Prior to being housed by
the RSHN program, the family lived together in a shelter for nearly one
year. As of today, they remain in the first and only house they have
ever been able to call home.

54. 54
 Contact Information
 Rachele King (Rachele.King@MNChurches.org)
 Hyojin Im (hyojin@umn.edu)
 Disclaimer: Some of the contents are under publication and protected by copy
rights from the publisher. Please contact Hyojin Im to use or cite any part of the
slides 17 – 50. Thank you!