Making sense?: The support of dispersed asylum seekers

Brown, P; Horrocks, C

Abstract

Reforms of the system around the accommodation and support needs of asylum seekers entering the United Kingdom (UK), during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have meant that the support of asylum seekers has largely moved away from mainstream social work to be based within dedicated asylum support teams. This article investigates how the workers engaged as asylum support workers understand and make sense of their participation in the support of asylum seekers dispersed across the UK. By drawing upon qualitative research with asylum support workers this paper looks at how such workers make sense of their roles and how the ‘support’ of asylum seekers is conceived. The paper concludes that by working within this political and controversial area of work, workers are constantly finding ways to negotiate their support role within a dominant framework of control.

Citation

Brown, P., & Horrocks, C. (2009). Making sense?: The support of dispersed asylum seekers. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 5(2), 22-34

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2009
• Deposit Date: Sep 6, 2010
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 6, 2010
• Journal: International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care
• Print ISSN: 1747-9894
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 22-34
• Keywords: asylum seekers, asylum support, narrative analysis, biographical methods
• Publisher URL: http://pierprofessional.metapress.com/content/j68u53l221442427/