Neil Bilotta

Skidmore College · Social Work

COVID‐19 has disproportionately affected the world's most economically and socially disadvantaged groups. Responses to COVID‐19's economic and social impacts differ between and within countries. Using data collected from 4814 households residing in India's Maharashtra state, we sought to characterize the magnitude of COVID‐19 impacts and the scale...

Previous studies have established the importance of social networks in determining youth employment outcomes. The quality and quantity of social entities in social networks and effectively using them, have a positive influence on employment outcomes. However, limited evidence exists on the composition and role of social networks on youth employment...

This article explores how two common social work ethical principles, respect for persons and justice, are understood by refugee young people aged 18–30 years old in Kenya. Through 31 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with refugee young people who had previously participated in academic and/or organization-based qualitative research, this article...

As a white, Western-educated man, undertaking research in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya, I encountered ethical dilemmas related to my privileged racial and gender status. These include power imbalances between researchers and refugees and conducting research in the face of human suffering. Through critical self-reflexivity, I analyze my own experience...

Consistent across almost all demographic characteristics, survey respondents reported increases in food, health, and entertainment expenditures. Whereas decreases were observed across education and social event categories. Regardless of demographic characteristics, a high percentage of respondents indicated no changes in debt expenditures.

In this brief, we examine the relationship between demographic characteristics and the familial impact of COVID-19. The survey explored the pandemic's impact on families more specifically, its impact on the loss of income, reported, health deterioration, missed hospital appointments, children's education, family stress and conflict, and family rela...

Across all available resources and demographic characteristics, the least reported resources received included educational support, agriculture provisions, and transportation services. The most common resource received included support to ensure individuals and families were able to meet their basic needs (i.e. food, clothing, shelter).

Overall, regardless of demographic characteristics, a high percentage of respondents reported COVID-19 had impacted their source of livelihood.

The goal of this report is to appraise the youth development field’s understanding of youth vulnerability; its measurement; best practices to address it as well as marginalization; and understand the effectiveness of positive youth development (PYD) programs in addressing it among youth in LMICs. The review was guided by nine research questions. Th...

Research studies with refugee young people (RYP) commonly recognise researchers’ theoretical and methodological approaches with respect to their work. Minimal scholarship, however, considers the process of research participation from the perspectives of RYP, particularly in refugee camps. Social work researchers interested in facilitating research...

This article explores the theoretical binary that has tended to encompass the majority of scholarship with unaccompanied refugee young people (URYP) affected by armed conflict. In this paper, we argue that URYP scholars often theorise this population via either a trauma/victimisation framework or resiliency lens, which creates a distinct binary. Wh...

This article examines the realities of war-affected youth living in Quebec, Canada, and in particular, their experiences and responses to education upon resettlement. In our qualitative study, using both in-depth interviews and focus groups, we queried 22 young people affected by war. Our thematic analysis describes the challenges youth faced in sc...

While a growing number of qualitative researchers use poetry as a means of data in their studies, few have used community poetry as data source, that is, poems written by marginalized populations in community and published in community sources. To address this lack, this article considers the use of community poetry for data collection and analysis...

The impact of colonisation affects a number of formerly colonised societies. This paper addresses how therapeutic interventions in northern Uganda align with a colonial framework. It explores connections between the English invasion of northern Uganda in the mid-1800s and therapeutic approaches to young people affected by armed conflict. Two case e...

Canada has signed the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict that obligates signatories to ensure assistance and support to war-affected children's physical and psychological recovery as well as their social reintegration. In light of this obligation, the paper reviews the mos...

The integration of a client-centered approach and a social development approach to social work practice will be explored in a collaborative internship between a Ugandan social service agency and a U.S. master's level social work program. Client-centered principles informed the effect of culture and social economic issues on clients' psycho-emotiona...