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Refugee resettlement in recent months has become an issue of intense debate in the United States. An issue that was once viewed as a humanitarian one has now taken on political significance. It has become a commonly discussed subject in public circles and one that requires an opinion regarding its good or evil. Despite these overarching debates, resettlement agencies continue to do the work of refugee resettlement that they are contracted by the U.S. Government to do. However, within World Relief, one of these resettlement agencies, a different debate is taking place. There is a continual evaluation of the scope and impact of the agency's work, and whether or not best practices are being used to serve refugee clients. This paper will explore the concept of human flourishing within the context of refugee populations and identify suggestions for successful practices to better guide clients into transformation. My current role within World Relief as a Resettlement Specialist has been to work directly with refugee clients to provide services and case management during their first few months in the United States. This experience has helped to inform the topic of this article and issues related to refugees and refugee resettlement. It has also given me opportunities to contemplate the concept of flourishing as it relates to the integration of refugee clients into society.
The Refugee Crisis and Resettlement
We are in the midst of a refugee crisis. This article promotes the use of best practices and the importance of care for refugees. A refugee, "under international and U.S. law...is someone outside of his or her own country with a well-founded fear of persecution in that country based on: (1) race; (2) religion; (3) nationality; (4) membership in a particular social group and/ or (5) political opinion" (Refugee Council USA, 2017, para 1). According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 21.3 million refugees worldwide and 65.3 million forcibly displaced people (UNHCR, 2016, p. 2). As wars continue to rage in countries around the world and persecution is perpetrated among religious minorities and ethnic groups, masses of people continue to flee conflict in order to find safety and peace for themselves and their families. For them, the decision is not between leaving or...