Members of the social work program team hosted community professionals, social work students and alumni attending the professional development panel and networking session at the School of Health Sciences on the North Haven Campus on March 4.

Panelists included Human Services Council’s Ingrid Pasten RPT, LCSW, a child and family therapist, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services’ (IRIS) Daad Serweri, associate director of co-sponsorship and welcome corps, New Haven Legal Assistance Association Immigration Staff Attorney Ellen Messali and Leslie Peña-Sullivan DSW, LCSW, a clinical social worker, educator and researcher specializing in trauma, immigrant mental health and social welfare policy.

In this sociohistorical time marked by unprecedented global movement and the shifting political landscape, it’s more important than ever to understand the stories behind the headlines, said Katherine Sallaku, Quinnipiac's director of field education and clinical associate professor of social work. 

“Together, we will explore the intricate and challenging journey of immigrants and refugees, delving into the policies that shape their lives and the personal stories that bring impacts of the policies to life,” said Sallaku.

Chair of Social Work, Director of the Masters in Social Work Program, and Professor of Social Work, Carol Awasu, said it’s incumbent upon social workers to remember Code of Ethics values, including service to people who are vulnerable and the role of social workers to advocate for social justice.

“Regardless of where we stand on this increasing political divide, it’s important for us to stand on the foundation of the Code of Ethics, which doesn’t ask us about our political ideology,” said Awasu. "It asks us to live those values that hold us to together throughout the time, regardless of the times." 

Anita Lee, School of Health Sciences associate dean of academic and faculty affairs and professor of health sciences, said the school was proud to host a program that reflected the devotion of the social work program.

“Because of your dedication and commitment, our students are best prepared to meet our School of Health Sciences and Master of Social Work missions to provide passionate, ethical and competent care to others and assure quality and equity in health as well as access and overall well-being,” said Lee.

Lee shared her experience as a child of a low-income immigrant family living in inner-city subsidized housing who went on to become a first-generation college student. Lee said she could have been destined to be a high school dropout if not for after school social work programs.

“I couldn’t be able to be here doing what I’m doing if not for social workers transforming my life,” said Lee. “I met a lot of good people who cared about me regardless of where I came from and provided me with opportunity. Please remember what you are doing is extremely important. You are transforming a lot of people’s lives. A lot of people in our society are in need, and because of you, they can be successful.”

Field Education Coordinator Rosetta Washington moderated the discussion. Panelists shared their perspectives on how recent immigration policies are affecting the lives of immigrants and refugees, the role advocacy plays and how those efforts can be improved, recommendations to help social workers ally with supportive policy advocacy and other work, how social workers and legal frameworks can help those facing mental health challenges and stories relating some challenges and successes they are experiencing at this critical time.

Born and raised in Chile, Pasten immigrated to America at the age of 30 as a mother of two. She said she understood the struggles of being an immigrant.

“How I see the policy impact right now is fear," said Pasten. "What we see with the clients that we work with is they either want to go back to their country or they don’t want to leave their house, because in that way, they have control. They don’t want to send their kids to school." 

As an immigration attorney, Messali said, “I think a lot about how we are asking people who are already so vulnerable in our communities — undocumented immigrants, undocumented children — to be able to assert their rights in situations where there’s such a tremendous power imbalance.”

Messali said the clients she is working with are also experiencing fear.

“It’s so devasting to see a process that was already extremely hard to navigate and built to prevent immigration, as opposed to encourage it, become so much harder,” said Messali. “My clients are living on a day-to-day basis, not necessarily leaving the house, not necessarily sending children to school.”

Providing clients with accurate information is a way social workers can provide relief and assistance, Messali said.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there that is perpetuated by fear. People are looking for accurate information,” said Messali.

In his native country of Afghanistan, Serweri risked his life serving as a U.S. military interpreter and later immigrated to America with support from the government. He said people all over the world, including the undocumented and refugees, have a basic human right to live in peace and solace.

Serweri said the current policy has cut off refugees waiting to come to the U.S., leaving them behind in host country refugee camps and settlements.

“They have been waiting in limbo for so many years in a hope to have a chance to eventually get to safety. Unfortunately, that program has now been shut down and suspended by the current administration, and that was a very legal pathway for refugees to come to the United States,” said Serweri.

Additionally, the current policy is affecting refugees who recently arrived legally to settle in this country, including many who have come to Connecticut in the past year. Serweri said they are in need of basic and life-saving assistance such as temporary rental assistance, employment services, school registration for children, English as a second language classes for adults and healthcare and legal service provisions.

“However, all those services have been impacted and we are almost going toward zero services for those clients. The impact has been dire and profound on this population that we have welcomed through the legal pathway,” said Serweri.

Peña-Sullivan spoke to the role advocacy plays in supporting immigrants and refugees, and how these roles can be improved.

“As a social worker, one of my favorite words is advocacy. Advocacy is critical in ensuring that immigrants have access to rights and resources," said Peña-Sullivan. "What we can do as social workers is support community-led efforts. We can engage in political reform. We can challenge harmful narratives. I think that strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration, just like we’re all sitting up here, is what can really make a difference in someone’s life and enhance the efforts that are going to lead to creating systemic change.”

The panelists also answered questions posed by the audience. As they return to their work in the field, Awasu encouraged audience members to mindfully engage in impactful next steps based on what they had learned.

“May we take away some action steps, some thoughts in regard to how in this moment we can stand on our values and make a positive difference in our clients’ lives, and also advocate for policies that will enable the society that we live in, the country that we live in, to be a better place,” said Awasu.