Practicing Social Justice Work in Refugee Resettlement

In this chapter Jen Barile and Jesse Littman describe their work as resettlement director and caseworker, respectively, with a local office of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). They explore questions of meaning and power regarding access to housing, employment, health care, and social services for people of refugee status. They speak to the importance of history and the role of the IRC in community education around the histories of trauma that refugees have experienced. They address capacities of both refugees and community partners in crafting a sense of home. They show how engagement, teaching-learning, accompaniment, critical reflection, and celebration play out in their work.