Syrian Refugees’ Experiences of Housing Stability during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Barriers to Integration and Just Solutions

Abstract

Research has shown high levels of housing precarity among governmentassisted refugees (GARs) connected to difficult housing markets, limited social -benefits, and other social and structural barriers to positive settlement (LumleySapanski, 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic has likely exacerbated this precarity. -Research to date demonstrates the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic -for refugees and low-income households, including both health-related issues and -economic challenges, that may exacerbate their ability to obtain affordable, suitable -housing (Jones & Grigsby-Toussaint, 2020; Shields & Alrob, 2020). In this context, -we examined Syrian government-assisted refugees’ experiences during the pandemic, -asking: how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Syrian refugees’ experiences of -housing stability. To examine this issue, we interviewed 38 families in Calgary, -London, and Fredericton. Using a qualitative descriptive methodology for analysis -and interpretation (Thorne et al., 1997), we found the liminality of settling as a GAR -has been compounded by isolation, further economic loss, and new anxieties during -the pandemic. Ultimately, for many participants, the pandemic has thwarted their -housing stability goals and decreased their likelihood of improving their housing -conditions. Based on our findings, we discuss potential policy and practice relevant -solutions to the challenges faced by refugees in Canada during the pandemic and -likely beyond.