This September Shared Justice will publish the 2019 Student-Faculty Research Prize reports. In anticipation of their release, we are publishing excerpts from last year’s “Reframing the Safety Net” series.
Emily Miller, a recent graduate of Wheaton College, and her faculty advisor Dr. Timothy Taylor, professor of politics and international relations at Wheaton College, were recipients of the Center for Public Justice’s (CPJ) 2018 Shared Justice Student-Faculty Research Prize. The Prize is designed to equip college students, with the guidance of their advisor, to engage in thorough research of political and social issues from a Christian perspective. Miller’s report, “Reframing the Safety Net: Improving Refugees’ Access to WIC”, was published last summer and called for creative solutions and actions to holistically support the needs of refugee families.
Below is a series of excerpts from Miller’s report in which she introduces readers to the barriers that refugee families face in accessing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), articulates the role of government and civil society in responding to this need, and tells the story of refugee families living in DuPage County, IL.
Discover
In 2017, the United States admitted 42,000 refugees — only a small fraction of the 65.3 million people in the world that had been displaced by violence or conflict. Even once admitted to the United States, refugees’ struggle for security continues. Young mothers, infants, and children are especially vulnerable. Family stability and childhood health are fragile and are particularly susceptible to the effects of poverty and conflict…
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a federal safety net program within the Food and Nutrition Service at the United States Department of Agriculture, is a nutrition program that is designed specifically to safeguard women and children’s health and prevent malnutrition…
Though eligible, and in many cases even enrolled in WIC, refugees often face barriers related to language and transportation that prevent them from accessing the benefits they’re eligible for. A program like WIC is essential within the first year of a refugee woman, infant, or child’s life in the United States and a targeted service like this is able to provide crucial access to healthcare and nutritional education. Each step in the United States takes a refugee further and further away from their home and propels them into a foreign environment. This vulnerability, coupled with the experience of being a young mother trying to understand a new country’s maze of programs and services, creates an unparalleled level of need.
Navigating this system of social services is often not intuitive. Refugees encounter barriers such as inadequate information, insufficient education, and lack necessary tools which limit their ability to access the many services the social safety net provides. Assisting refugees in navigating and more effectively accessing WIC and other safety net programs requires effort from both government and civil society.
Frame
Once in America, thousands of refugees are thrown into new worlds — some to sprawling suburbia, where the closest grocery store is several miles away, and others to urban centers with a complicated matrix of public transportation. They have lost nearly everything. Basic needs like food, shelter, and health care are their most pressing concerns, and they must be able to turn to the government as an institution that can assist them during their first year in the United States…
In their book Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of a Global Refugee Crisis, former World Relief president Stephen Bauman and U.S. Director of Church Mobilization Matthew Soerens urge Christians to recognize “We cannot holistically love our neighbors without engaging questions of policy that ultimately impact people.” This integration between caring for refugees and thinking critically about the role of government is essential for Christians to meet the needs of the vulnerable in our communities…
Government has something “affirmative and indispensable to contribute to human flourishing,” and public policies should be crafted in such a way that honor and uphold the family as one of the most basic and formative institutions in society…
As it pertains to refugees, the government has recognized, rightly, that refugee families are especially vulnerable and may require temporary assistance to meet basic needs. Through WIC, government is able to provide assistance to refugees that they may not otherwise have access to…
Nonprofit organizations play a critical role in moving refugees from simply being eligible for safety net programs to full participation. Nonprofits often have on-the-ground knowledge about the populations that they serve and know how to tailor assistance to best suit the needs of refugees. In many cases, nonprofits are the most knowledgeable about the unique barriers their clients face in accessing WIC and what effective solutions look like…
Refugees rely on a variety of other resources within their first year, from food pantries to welcome packages from churches, in order to move toward both eventual independence from public assistance as well as the development of relationships and networks of support in their communities. Over the course of one year, resettlement agencies closely follow families to make sure they are learning how to access and navigate different services, as well as make personal achievements in language and skills acquisition. In short, it takes a diverse network of government programs, civil society institutions, and individuals to ensure that refugees move from the margins of society to a place of security and flourishing.
Engage
Natalya* is a 25-year-old refugee from Ukraine. She is a bright, kind woman full of warmth. She takes painstaking care to make sure her children are safe, well-fed, and healthy, eating whole foods and lots of dairy. In August of 2017, she made her journey from Ukraine to DuPage County, located about 25 miles west of Chicago, Illinois…
Upon arrival, Natalya was eligible for WIC and received nutritional counseling and food voucher benefits from her local WIC clinic. However, when asked about her use of WIC vouchers, or “coupons” as they are commonly known, Natalya patiently described her difficulties with the program. “WIC seems like a generally good program,” she said. “But I wasn’t able to use any of my coupons in time, so they expired. I don’t have a car, so I have to walk to the grocery store down the street.”…
World Relief DuPage ensures that all refugees settled within DuPage County are able to get to their initial WIC appointment, enrolls them in the program, and assists them with signing up for WIC coupons. Additionally, World Relief caseworkers visit families at three months, seven months, and 11 months following the families’ initial resettlement. Through these check-ins, World Relief is able to identify any nutritional problems that the families may be experiencing, as well as provide resources if the family expresses that they are struggling to get to a grocery store or primary care provider…
Many other churches have similarly engaged in caring for refugees, regardless of a refugee’s faith or ethnic background. College Church, a large congregation located just a few miles from World Relief’s offices, is just one of many churches in DuPage County that serve the various needs of refugees. The church hosts English classes on their campus, where volunteers teach English to young mothers and provide childcare for their children at the same time. Welcome teams from the church put together welcome kits of food, utensils, cleaning items, and appliances for new arrivals, and offer transportation to and from the church’s preschool for refugee children living in a nearby apartment complex. Many other churches in the area offer similar services…
The resilience and resourcefulness with which refugees like Natalya take care of their children and themselves is astounding given the years of difficult transience they have endured. As they navigate the federal safety net, including the various appointments and coupons in an unfamiliar language, it is necessary for civic institutions to work towards mending the gaps in the safety net to provide the strongest possible care for the most vulnerable.
* Indicates name has been changed in order to ensure privacy.