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The sense of community, participation and empowerment enable us to understand the process of displacement and resettlement in the context of reception, as well as the consequences of both phenomena. Our objectives are a) to assess the three constructs mentioned above, b) to analyze the synergy existing among them and c) to propose strategies for increasing their capacity to influence the decision-making processes. We carried out a cross-sectional exploratory study with displaced (n=30) and non-displaced (n=32) people in two low-income districts of Barranquilla (Colombia). There is positive feedback between the processes evaluated, although no significant differences are observed between the displaced and the non-displaced groups. The dimension of belonging (sense of community) is the one that best explains the variance of empowerment and participation in both groups. Finally, we present a set of initiatives to reinforce the sense of community and to facilitate access to the community’s social resources for the displaced population.