A Model For Refugee And Resettlement Assistance In North Carolina

According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a refugee is someone who is located outside of the United States, is of special humanitarian concern to the United States, demonstrates that they were persecuted or well-found fear of persecution, is not resettled in another country, and is admissible to the United States. There are currently 65.3 million refugees worldwide according to the UNHCR in 2016. North Carolina is one of the top 10 states in refugee resettlement, and with at least 22 countries of origin identified, North Carolina is a compelling state on which to focus this applied thesis. Research has been published on refugee resettlement assistance in North Carolina, in addition to information available from the assistance organizations themselves. This research has not been compiled for a comprehensive review of the existing implemented models, nor an analysis of the research highlighting the gaps that are present within the existing infrastructure and support. Rather, from such research, I present a model aimed to increase refugee success in the context of North Carolina.