Its monthly multicultural community hub offers a one-stop-shop for migrant and refugee communities who face a number of barriers, including lack of knowledge of available services in the local area, language barriers, social isolation, cultural shame, and confusion due to the range of overlapping services.
Such problems have been identified in newly arrived refugee and migrant communities as well as among Cultrually and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) individuals who have lived in the area for over five years (outside the settlement period).
Sydney MCS Settlement Services Program staff members have observed protracted wait times for referrals or joint caseworker problem solving.
That can occur due to high workloads or limited resourcing. The result is that newly arrived migrants have limited information about the services available to them.
The Multicultural Community Hub:
- Provides practical on-the-spot support to CALD communities living in the south-eastern suburbs
- Provides an open forum for newly arrived community members to ask about how services work and what assistance is available to them in their area
- Creates a platform for community members to express what services or information is relevant and the ability to cater to this by inviting those services or organisations according to need
- Fosters community connections and capacity building for CALD community members
- Generates communication in the community around getting alternative support for problems and potentially generating more referrals to the service in the long term
Assistance provided at the hub includes:
- Housing NSW
- Department of Human Services (Centrelink)
- Australian Taxation Office
- Resume support
- NDIS providers
- Bill assistance/financial support
This was one of the key messages delivered in August at the Cultural Shift conference, which brought together experts, prominent Australians, practitioners, community groups and SSI members to explore and discuss the latest approaches to supporting migrant and refugee families through settlement.
“Settling in Australia provides migrant and refugee families with many new opportunities,” SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said in her opening address to the conference.
“However, we know that the process of re-establishing a life in a new country can also be challenging for many families, so we need to explore suitable measures to maximise the chances of a successful settlement — and this is what this conference is for.”
Captain Mona Shindy from Royal Australian Navy and Dr Karen Zwi, Associate Professor at UNSW, were the first keynote speakers of the conference, setting up the tone for a day that didn’t disappoint.
“It is a basic need to feel belonging to where you live,” said Ms Shindy, who migrated to Australia from Egypt as a three-year-old.
“A healthy and happy society is one where we accept differences, but where we can also be ourselves without feeling uncomfortable.”
A highlight of the first day was the closing plenary session led by award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Patrick Abboud, who conducted a discussion about the concept of belonging. A live video recording of the panel is available online here.
Journalist Patrick Abboud (left) facilitated plenary session with (L-R) Young Australian of the Year for Victoria Jason Ball, freelance storyteller Manal Younus, Professor Professor James Arvantakis and disability activist Diana Qian (not pictured)
A panel presentation with some of the most influential speakers in the settlement sector kicked off the second day. Focusing on community responses to migrant settlement, attendees learned about grassroots projects that have had outstanding results, such as the refugee settlement plan undertaken in the regional area of Mingoola, NSW, which has been embraced by the local community and credited with revitalising the country town socially and economically.
Speaking on the panel, NSW Coordinator General of Refugee Resettlement Professor Peter Shergold said regional areas could become an ideal setting for refugees arriving in Australia from rural backgrounds.
“It is time to allow community organisations and members to take part in the designing stage of refugee settlement plans, and not only in their delivery,” said Mr Shergold.
“Service providers such as SSI and its staff work every day with newly arrived refugees, and their knowledge makes them the ideal candidates to plan for settlement pathways, not only to deliver them.”
The conference was completed with a closing session where two inspiring service users, who acted as rapporteurs for the symposium, shared their moving stories with the audience.
“When I got sick while visiting Australia for a conference and I couldn’t go back to my country, I had no idea what to do,” said Ability Links NSW (ALNSW) participant Edwin Ikwu , who could never take the plane back to his native Nigeria after complications from a virus he contracted in Sydney left him with his limbs amputated.
“Thanks to service providers such as SSI, through their ALNSW program, I found support to maintain my confidence. They also linked me to various organisations despite not being eligible to many of the services due to not being an Australian resident, but finally they found the ones that could assist me and thanks to that I survived.”
Liverpool Girls High School student and Youth Advocate for SSI Youth Collective Rooan Al Kalmashi, sent a more critical message to the audience, pointing at the usual lack of youth representation in the policy-making processes, especially those young people from refugee and migrant background.
“Young people are isolated from democracy; we don’t get much representation or get asked to be part of the decision-making,” Ms Al Kalmashi said.
“However, Cultural Shift really resonated with me and it aligned with my values, as young people from all backgrounds were given a platform to express their voices and discuss problems affecting them, such as homophobia, misogyny or Islamophobia.”
For more of the action from Cultural Shift, check out our Facebook gallery, or head to Twitter and follow the hashtag #CulturalShift2017.
Her goal for life in Australia is to find full-time work in interpreting or business administration, fields in which she already has qualifications and experience. Ultimately, she wants to stand on her own two feet and give back to the country that has supported her to start life from scratch.
Samira is one of thousands of hardworking, community-minded people that SSI has supported over the past 18 months as part of our Federal Government’s commitment to accept an additional intake of refugees escaping the war in Syria and Iraq. As the settlement of this cohort comes to an end, I’ve reflected on the wide-reaching ramifications of this unprecedented humanitarian gesture.
It enabled 12,000 individuals and families to start new lives that are free of war and persecution — to bring up their children in a safe environment, to reunite with family members, to remember their dreams and start to follow them again.
But the benefits are not just one way. History shows that as a nation, we reap huge rewards from the economic, social and cultural contributions refugees make to their new communities. For every high profile success story from the 12,000 cohort, such as Refugee Talent founder Nirary Dacho, there are thousands of people like Samira whose contributions strengthen the economic and social fabric of our country.
This is something we’ve seen again and again at SSI in the six years that we’ve been delivering the Humanitarian Settlement Services (HSS) program, under which refugees receive essential support and information to assist with their settlement.
This program will soon be replaced by the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP), and I’m delighted to say that SSI will continue our long-term work with refugees under this new program. The Government announced last month that SSI has secured two of the 11 newly defined contract regions across Australia: Sydney and NSW regional, which covers northern NSW and the newly announced regional settlement hub of Armidale.
We’re looking forward to getting to work under this new program, which has a greater emphasis on English language proficiency; education and development; and employment. The three ‘Es’ are areas that SSI has incorporated for some years now as part and parcel of our service delivery. We’re pleased that they’ve now been formalised — something we see as positive reinforcement of our good work under the current program.
The arrival of an additional 12,000 refugees in Australia also saw an incredible amount of collaboration between all levels of government and community. Just last week, SSI brought together our peers in the settlement sector for a two-day conference to take stock and explore what new, innovative and creative ways have been implemented to support refugee and migrant families in settlement.
This is the second time we’ve hosted Cultural Shift, which recognises the need for greater discussion about the models and approaches for supporting newly arrived families through settlement.
Settling in Australia provides migrant and refugee families with many new opportunities. However, we know that the process of re-establishing a life in a new country can also be challenging for many families.
We know that timely and suitable support services can maximise the opportunities for families and the contributions they will make to the broader Australian community in the future.
Over the two days at Cultural Shift, we heard many great examples of services working together to meet the needs of families, ranging from community led initiatives, migrant and refugee services, child and family support services, health, employment, disability, education, housing, private sector and philanthropic endeavours.
The strength of the Cultural Shift program lay in the fact that it was full of professionals and community leaders with both lived experience and industry expertise. It was also great this year to see strong participation from our SSI colleagues in the Ability Links, Multicultural Foster Care, Housing, HSS and SRSS programs, along with SSI’s NSP partners and member organisations.
Lessons from the inaugural Cultural Shift symposium have informed our thinking and practices at SSI, and I have no doubt that the findings from this year will similarly enable us to work more effectively and collaboratively to enhance settlement and support services for refugee and migrant families.
Back in his hometown of Aleppo, Mr Paloulian had worked very hard from a young age to become a professional tennis player. Eventually he achieved his dream, but soon the war broke out and normal life in Syria, including sports competitions, was put on hold.
After six years away from the tennis court and with their country becoming increasingly unsafe, Mr Paloulian and his family were granted a humanitarian visa and moved to Australia.
“I started to look for a job as a tennis coach as soon as I arrived,” Mr Paloulian said. “They told me I had to get my qualifications recognised here, but I didn’t know where to start. Then my case manager at SSI told me about the Ignite program.”
Ignite Small Business Start-Ups is an SSI initiative that provides support for people of refugee and asylum seeker background who are interested in creating their own business, or expanding an existing one.
Ignite enterprise facilitators have a vast knowledge of the Australian business environment and can support entrepreneurs in matters such as networking, financial planning and marketing strategy.
“The first meeting with Ben, my Ignite facilitator, went great. He told me that I had to do a course to get a Community Coach Certificate and helped me enrol into one due to start soon in Canberra,” Mr Paloulian said.
With the support of his Ignite facilitator, Mr Paloulian was connected with Tennis Australia, where professionals in the industry saw the potential of the Syrian player.
“Through Tennis Australia I got a volunteering position teaching tennis at a primary school in Campbelltown,” Mr Paloulian said. “I really enjoyed it.”
One day, he was asked to replace one of the instructors who had called in sick and was soon hired by the school to coach children two days a week.
Despite getting a job and aspiring to return to professional tennis, Mr Paloulian hasn’t stopped his volunteering because he sees it as a way to give back to the community that has supported him and his family in settling in their new country.
“Australia has saved my life and the life of my family, so I am very grateful and ready to start a new life here.
“As a refugee, I think there is something broken inside all those who had to leave their homeland to seek refuge. It’s not easy. But I think that a way to overcome the sadness is to give something back to the country that’s welcomed you.”
Mr Paloulian said he would like to use his experience as tennis player and his language skills in Arabic to coach children from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those who have also arrived as refugees.
Jasmine had been using a wheelchair, but her dad had to carry her to access their house in Mount Druitt, which wasn’t wheelchair accessible. But now, with Jasmine growing in to a teenager this became more difficult.
Jasmine had also become lonely as she spent most of her free time at home, because her family thought her Spina Bifida meant she could not play and participate with other kids.
This was the situation when SSI Linker Shabana, from Ability Links NSW (ALNSW), got a phone call from Jasmine’s mother and they made an appointment.
ALNSW is a free program delivered by SSI that supports people with disability, their family and carers to live the life they want as valued and equal members of their community.
The program is delivered through Linkers, who have extensive knowledge of their local communities. Linkers provide a locally-based, first point of contact for people who want to access support and services in their community.
Ability Linker Shabana assessed that the most urgent thing was to find a way to get a ramp installed to the house so Jasmine had independence to come and go without her dad’s help.
The SSI Linkers helped the family contact two specialists in installing ramps for disabled access and Jasmine was soon able to enter her home for the first time on her own.
Linker Shabana met again with Jasmine and her family to explore what her interests were. Jasmine said she loved swimming but she wasn’t confident in the water.
Shabana researched and found a local pool that was fully accessible to people in wheelchairs and that it could provide specialised swimming lessons for Jasmine.
A few weeks later Jasmine started weekly swimming lessons before going back to an easily accessible home.
For more information on how Ability Links could help you or someone you care for, please email abilitylinks@ssi.org.au
“I was attending an SSI orientation session on health and I was contributing and asking questions in English. The lecturer asked how long I’d been in Australia, which at that time was one-and-a-half months.
“She said I was very fluent and asked if I was working. I said I wished I had a job, so she suggested I apply for a job with her organisation, Refugee Health. Now I’m an interpreter for patients and nurses,” said Ms Maksoud.
“It’s only part-time work, but I’m happy with that because at the moment I’m also studying.”
Ms Maksoud left her native country of Syria in 2014 and spent three years in limbo, staying initially in Lebanon and living later in Turkey, before arriving in Australia in April 2017, where she was supported by SSI’s Humanitarian Settlement Services program.
“I was thankful to the SSI staff. They helped us a lot — and they are still helping us,” she said. “They assisted us with all aspects of starting life in Australia. But then you have to stand on your own feet. You can’t depend all the time on people helping you. You have to start to push yourself too.
“So I started to look for a job because I have a lot of experience in the administrative field. In my country, I used to work in an international organisation.”
Unfortunately, Ms Maksoud kept striking two of the biggest barriers that prevent refugees from entering the Australian workforce: a lack of local work experience and qualifications.
“I am new here. I’ve been here only four months. How can I have experience and certificates? So I had to find a solution. Although I’m a graduate of the university and have a diploma in interpreting and translation, that was not enough because you have to have credentials from Australia. So I registered in TAFE doing a Certificate III in medical business administration and I’ve also registered for a diploma in general business administration.”
On top of that Ms Maksoud is studying for her driver’s license and interpreter’s accreditation, while also undertaking essential settlement steps such as securing long-term accommodation.
“Being a refugee, you have to show and give your best. As the community is assisting you, in return, you have to give all that you can and be a useful member in your new community.”
Ms Maksoud’s goal for life in Australia is to find full-time employment in administration or as an interpreter.
“I like them both and do them both wholeheartedly. I’m studying and preparing myself to enter both fields, so that when the opportunity comes, whichever field it’s in, I’m ready for it.”
The Women of Diversity Dinner 2017 was themed “Harmony Begins At Home”
For many, although safe in Australia, settling in a new community with family left behind, the challenges are not over.
But that Saturday night in Bankstown they danced, sang and cried to a program that included a program of poetry, music, dance and speeches.
Keynote speaker Dr Rachael Kohn spoke about the diversity of women in her own family and worldwide, and the power of faith and stories.
One of the performers, Ethiopian-Australian slam poet Ruth Fessaha, said:
Let us,
Snap the stereotypes of,
The “perfect woman,”
The “perfect leader”
Leave these fictions of
Unattainable ideals
On the bookshelf and,
Give me something real to read like,
She failed, yet she got back up
She lost everything, only to gain it back.
She struggled to cope, yet she found peace.
She had little, yet cared for others’ needs.
Let us,
Break the headlines once again,
Because great women
Are not new news.
And some of the greatest women
I know, aren’t even on the news.
SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said the event was a wonderful gathering of diverse cultures, with women not only sitting together to share their experiences over dinner but also sharing cultural experiences through dance and music.
“It was a happy event and we had so much fun but most importantly it acknowledged the amazing role women play in our communities,” she said.
“It was wonderful to be able to extend this opportunity of networking to many of the women we work with.”
Jewish Board of Deputies community relations and policy manager Lynda Ben-Menashe said: “The Women of Diversity isn’t just about an annual dinner — it’s about bringing women together to develop themselves and their communities for the greater good of Sydney.”
Last year the most important outcome of the dinner was that all the organisations involved sent women to participate in the Board of Deputies’ pilot “We Are All Sydney” community leadership program. Eighteen women from 15 communities graduated from the program in June and demand for a 2018 program is overwhelming.
Many of the guests at the dinner were also graduates of the Board of Deputies’ long-running Shared Table project, which since 2012 has brought together hundreds of diverse women to share food and stories and break down stereotypes and prejudices.
“This is the core business of the Board of Deputies — bringing people together in myriad forums to strengthen the fabric of our society,” said Ms Ben-Menashe.
“We eat together, we talk together, we find out what we care about together and then we fight for those things. Eventually, we stand together in coalitions like the 31-member Keep NSW Safe group to lobby our government to strengthen the law against hate speech.”
The Women of Diversity Dinner was first held in 2016 by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies to establish a coalition of organisations, including the Australia South Sea Islanders-Port Jackson, the Ethnic Communities Council of NSW, the Muslim Women’s National Network of Australia, the Jewish Board of Deputies, the SAHELI South Asian Women’s Network, Settlement Services International, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Uniting Church in Australia NSW & ACT.
The second annual Iraqi Cultural Festival, running from May to September, is brought about by a group of artists, cultural leaders and volunteers from the diverse sections of the Iraqi community in Sydney.
Last month the Iraqi Australian University Graduate Forum (IAUGF) partnered with SSI’s Arts and Culture program, Ability Links and CORE Multicultural Communities to develop, run and promote an inclusive arts event in Fairfield City Museum.
Refugee musician Sinan Bayood played the oud during session breaks, and catering was provided by Onsam Catering, a business supported by SSI’s IgniteAbility Small Business Start-ups, which facilitates business creation for people with disability.
The event saw people with disabilities from the Iraqi community facilitate drawing, flower-making and etching workshops.
A panel discussion run by the workshop facilitators provided insight into the individual and collective benefits of making cultural events accessible and inclusive for all in the Iraqi community.
SSI’s Arts and Culture representative Joseph Quilter, Ability Linker Zaidoon Abdul Rassak and Disability Inclusion Officer Javier Ortiz joined the panel and discussed how art could be used as a vehicle for creating a more inclusive society and as a powerful tool for social cohesion.
The Iraqi Australian University Graduate Forum is an active agent of inclusion, aiming to promote social cohesion and mutual understanding among different Iraqi ethnic and religious groups through arts and cultural activities.
The accessible art workshops have added a layer to the forum’s valuable work, including people of different abilities as valued members of the Iraqi community.
The success of the event is a great example of a grassroots community organisation being supported by larger organisations while leading the way towards a more diverse and inclusive society and adding to the cultural fabric of a community.
Click here for a slideshow of the day.
Jawad’s kite design represents all his friends at Community Kitchen.
Jawad, who is seeking asylum in Australia, initially came to Community Kitchen as a guest but has gone on to become one of its most prolific volunteers. He helps in the kitchen, takes part in activities, and is often the last volunteer to leave, after lending a hand with the clean-up.
Jawad made an unusual kite during a kite-making workshop earlier this year. When asked about the design, he said other participants were decorating their kites with images from their home countries.
But Jawad felt conflicted. He is from an Afghan culture, was born in Pakistan and is friends with many people at Community Kitchen — friends from other backgrounds, including Tamil and Rohingya.
He wanted to be inclusive. So he said his design was “SSI”, “Because SSI includes everyone!”
The SSI Community Kitchen offers a space for guests to share a meal and experience multicultural Australia. It’s a place to have fun meeting new people, practise English, and participate in music and sporting activities.
It also provides a place for guests to interact with the broader Australian community and access specialist service providers, information and skills development.
Find out about opportunities to volunteer at Community Kitchen.
Yousef is one of five Friendship Garden participants who recently completed a short course in horticulture and will be receiving a Statement of Attainment from Padstow TAFE.
Created in partnership between SSI and Cumberland City Council, the Friendship Garden is an inclusive community project where people from all walks of life bond over their shared experience and love of gardening.
Yousef, who is seeking asylum in Australia, has been coming to the garden for two years and is now an avid contributor to the garden’s growth.
While he faces social, economic and language barriers, his confidence has soared, his English skills have improved and he has gained new skills in the garden.
Through Friendship Garden activities, SSI has helped Yousef and others reach their potential and, more importantly, pave a pathway to a better future.
SSI Community Engagement Practitioner Diana Nguyen said the Friendship Garden became a more formal classroom this year, when the horticulture short course was held on site.
“We looked at ways of filling the gap to ensure successful outcomes for the students and TAFE, particularly for people like Yousef who struggle with the language and transport. “Transport to Padstow was a barrier, so we proposed that the course to be delivered at the Friendship Garden in Auburn.”
Yousef and other gardeners in the course were supported by SSI volunteers who offered their time and skills in community languages and ESL teaching.
“We adopted a holistic approach, by utilising the skills of SSI volunteers to support the community members through the course,” Ms Nguyen said.
“As a result, they were able to attain a certificate of completion and thereby increase their motivation and confidence.”
Find out how to become a Friendship Garden volunteer.