Social work in shelters for unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors: challenging the traditional model of social work and the call for critical and political reflexivity

Abstract

According to Eurostat (2021), Greece received 13,995 asylum applications from unaccompanied minors between 2015 and 2020, with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) overseeing the management of these migrations. Child protection services are concurrently being run by some NGOs, with social workers acting as the main point of reference for unaccompanied minors. The working conditions that such professionals face, when taken alongside anti-immigration and neoliberal policies, tend to alienate both the professionals and the ethical and value base of the profession. In this article, I will give a short overview of my personal experience as a social worker in an accommodation shelter for unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors in Greece. I will give examples from my everyday working life that are confronted by critical/ radical social work, followed by personal critical thoughts and questions aimed at deconstructing the rooted tendencies that lead professionals to distance their work from minors.