Upcoming Conference on Changes to Refugee Claim Process

Recent changes to the refugee claim process have limited the options for many refugees who are making a claim from countries that have been officially designated as democratic. Many of the refugee claimants most affected by these changes are those who have a complex history of trauma, such as women fleeing domestic violence situations or LGBTQ individuals fleeing homophobic persecution, in addition to having experienced he trauma of war or civil unrest. The majority of claimants, regardless of the reason for their flight, do not have access to formal assessment services and are often among those most ill served by current frameworks for conducting trauma assessments. As a result, refugee lawyers are having to rely more and more on support letters written by front line social service workers to support their client’s refugee claims. These letters are extremely important to the claim process as frontline workers are often the most knowledgeable about their client’s histories and symptoms. However, few frontline workers receive any formal training in writing letters of support and therefore the process can be daunting. This workshop is designed to assist frontline workers in writing effective letters of support for their clients who are making a refugee claim.

There is a conference on this topic happening, I am not sure where but you might want to look into it.