Influence of family hosting on refugee integration and its implication on social work practice: the French case

Abstract

In addition to existing institutional barriers in European societies, refugee settlement and integration also faces numerous social challenges, such as discrimination and stigmatisation towards refugee groups. Family hosting is a bold refugee accommodation solution promoted by social workers across the European continent, which draws attention to the complexities of refugee support. This study examines family hosting in France to assess its influences on refugee integration in the host society. Through in-depth interviews with 34 multi-stakeholders (20 refugees, 10 hosting family members and 4 social workers) from different family hosting projects, family hosting has been proven to bring comprehensive influences to refugee integration, such as accumulation of social connection and cultivation of the sense of belonging. Nonetheless, it has also revealed potential limitations alongside the cohabitation process, for instance, the risk of negatively impacting refugees' privacy and experience of independence. In terms of the implication for future social work practice, the evidence showed that family hosting is not a once-and-for-all solution; it depends on the refugee's situation and requirements. In addition, for those refugees who are ready to be hosted, the research shows that different hosting schedules, either long-term or short-term, impact on how each case functions, with pros and cons.RÉSUMÉ Europe; travail social en France

Security Net and Ambassadors for Social Inclusion? The Role of Intermediaries in Host–Refugee Relationships in Homestay Programs

“…The insufficiency of government-led housing for asylum seekers and refugees in many European societies has led to the emergence of family hosting programs in Europe (Ran & Join-Lambert, 2019). Such programs tend to have a double objective: first, to provide safe and secure housing, and second, to aid local integration.…”

“…Recent studies on the impact of family-hosting in refugee integration in France and Spain (Brinker, 2020;Ran & Join-Lambert, 2019), communal living between refugees and residents in Belgium (Mahieu & Van Caudenberg, 2020), and foster care of unaccompanied young refugees in local families in England (Sirriyeh, 2013) show that flatshares between refugees and locals are largely beneficial in this respect. Not only do they provide housing, but host families also facilitated refugees' access to local social capital and positively impacted refugees' well-being (Ran & Join-Lambert, 2019). Brinker (2020) and Sirriyeh (2013) further highlight the close emotional bonds developed between flatmates and the extended family members of residents, fostering a sense of belonging.…”

“…As a response, hosting programs have emerged, which provide an alternative form of refugee accommodation (Ran & Join-Lambert, 2019). In such programs, resident families or individuals offer a spare room to refugees for a limited time.…”

“…While relationships between residents and refugees in family hosting programs (Brinker, 2020;Ran & Join-Lambert, 2019) and befriending programs (Behnia, 2007;Charbonneau & Laaroussi, 2003;Stock, 2019) have been studied by various researchers, the impact of local intermediaries in family hosting programs has not been investigated before. The present study occupies this niche in the literature by exploring the role of intermediaries in host-refugee dyads, examining whether they can contribute to the formation of local social capital and compensate for potential power differentials in refugee-host relationships observed elsewhere.…”

Social work with refugee and displaced populations in Europe: (dis)continuities, dilemmas, developments

“…There is a promise in exploring further the 'interstices' emerging within hostile law or policy provisions (Fontanari & Ambrosini, 2018), where alliances are negotiated between different sympathetic actors, including social movements, volunteers (e.g. Anghel & Grierson, 2020 in this issue) and families that promote domestic hospitality (see Ran & Join-Lambert, 2020 in this issue). The constitutive legal weakness of forced migrants, in other words, may be offset by a remarkable civic strengthalthough in ways, extents and impact that vary significantly across contexts and pathways of reception.…”