Possibilities of community social work in the process of internally displaced persons inclusion into the new territorial communities

Abstract

Socio-psychological adaptation of the displaced persons to the conditions of host communities and, concordantly, search of the tools for their successful inclusion into a new social environment is considered to be one of the burning issues in the context of the migration processes in Ukraine in 2014–2017. In this article the possibilities of the implementation of different social work models with the communities aimed at integration of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) into the new territorial communities are justified. The fundamental principle that should be considered by a social worker-services provider lies in maintaining a balance between the person and the environment, as well as understanding that a new environment may become both the source of stress and desadaptation, and the resource in the problem solving process. Implementation of the “local development” model allows to intensify public initiatives, and to consider the IDPs interests together with the interests of the host communities in their attempts to find solutions of common problems. Implementation of the “social action” model is connected with engaging the IDPs into active advocacy of their own rights, drawing attention to unresolved problems, and establishing a dialogue with the authorities. The “social planning” model allows to focus on building a network between displaced persons, state social services, and NGOs for the sake of high quality services provision to the IDPs.