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Most of the claims relate to the Fairfield LGA, one of eight areas where SSI delivers the Humanitarian Settlement Program in the Sydney metropolitan area. The HSS is funded by the Federal Government.

SSI is keen to clarify several key points being repeated in the media, often without substantiation or citing of sources. In some cases where sources are offered, correct data has been used to extrapolate incorrect conclusions.

This is an attempt to sort fact from fiction.

Syrian refugee arrivals claim 1:

More than 6,000 refugees from the Federal Government’s special Syrian humanitarian intake have been settled in Fairfield.

Facts:

Figures for refugees arriving in Australia: 9, 382 of the 12,000 one-off quota have arrived; 5,000 have arrived in NSW, 5,382 have arrived in other states.

Syrian refugee arrivals claim 2

The Fairfield property market has become unaffordable, with demand outpacing supply. The median rent for a unit is about $500 a week.

Facts:

Fairfield average rents are $330 for a 2 bedroom unit and $360 for a 2 bedroom house.

Syrian refugee arrivals claim 3

Fairfield is struggling to settle refugees after a huge influx of new arrivals

Facts:

Fairfield's population is 200,000 and it has received about 737 refugees in the three months to January 2017.

About SSI

SSI is a community-based, not-for-profit humanitarian organisation providing a range of services in the areas of humanitarian settlement, housing, asylum seeker assistance, multicultural foster care, disability support and employment services in NSW.

Media enquiries

SSI Corporate Communications Manager, Angela Calabrese 0401 284 828

SSI Communications Assistant, Hannah Gartrell, 0488 680 287

 

Shoppers at the first The Staples Bag pop-up store at SydWest Multicultural Services.

Tables were covered with boxes of breakfast cereal, soap, pasta, bread, biscuits, boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables, and much more for people to choose from.

Manager of SSI Employment Terry Wilson was amazed at the number of people who showed up for the launch of The Staples Bag pop-up and said that it confirmed the need in the community for such a service.

“SSI established The Staples Bag social enterprise over a year ago to address the growing issue of food insecurity in the community, and the growth in popularity and demand for the service has been incredible,” Mr Wilson said.

The Staples Bag has multiple benefits for the community. Grocery and household items are sold at often 70% less than the retail value through a store in Campsie and several regular pop-up stalls in social housing estates and retirement villages. This is great news for people struggling to afford food, which according to Foodbank’s 2016 Hunger Report is one in six Australians, with over 644,000 people receiving food relief each month.

The other benefit is that The Staples Bag store, pop-ups and warehouse are staffed by job seekers who are getting invaluable hands-on work experience.

“By working with us, job seekers get experience in things such as marketing, retail, warehousing and customer service. These are tangible skills that boost any resume,” Mr Wilson said.

“We are always looking for opportunities to access more people in the community and are really pleased to be partnering with SydWest Multicultural Services, who have hosted today’s pop-up.”

SydWest Multicultural Services CEO, Elfa Moraitakis was thrilled at the response to the initiative.

“Organisations like SydWest have a responsibility to enhance the quality of life of their local communities,” Ms Moraitakis said.

“This is why it is important to connect the community with initiatives like The Staples Bag, and SydWest will now host The Staples Bag pop-up once a fortnight.”

Ms Moraitakis said that the employment component of The Staples Bag also aligned with their Job Club and that The Staples Bag was one of their most important partners.

Earlier in the day, Mr Wilson presented employment information to a group of about 50 job seekers from the local community, keen to learn how to find a job or local work experience opportunities.

Visit our website for more information about The Staples Bag and other SSI social enterprises, and check the Facebook page to find out about store and pop-up locations.

The Staples Bag

SSI acting CEO Peter Zographakis.

Over the last few weeks, international politics have hit the headlines with an unpleasant reminder of how important it is to continue working towards a more understanding world where populist measures based on hate and discrimination have no place.

We learned of the travel ban imposed by the US, which halted all refugee admissions and temporarily banned citizens from countries of Muslim majority like Iran, Iraq or Syria from entering the country.

Measures like this can be truly discouraging in a moment in history when support for refugees is needed more than ever, as thousands of innocent people fleeing conflict and persecution need a safe place to call home.

At SSI we have been working with people of refugee and asylum seeker background for over 15 years and know very well that successful settlement starts with being welcomed and supported in the right way.

Of course, one of the key elements for a successful settlement is finding employment to lead an independent and fulfilling life. And sometimes this happens earlier than one might think. I’m thinking of people like Rahaf Alrifai, a recently-arrived Syrian mother of three who, just five months after landing in Australia with her family on a humanitarian visa, started working as a data entry assistant at SSI Employment.

SSI Employment is a fast-growing program within our organisation that makes possible outcomes like Ms Alrifai’s and many others, through high-quality and innovative employment services for job seekers from any background. This achievement has been independently endorsed with SSI/CoAct’s JobActive, recently recognised for the third trimester in a row with a five-star rating by the Department of Employment. Star ratings are used to assess a provider’s efficiency and effectiveness in placing job seekers into sustainable work.

Congratulations to the Employment team!

One of SSI’s Employment initiatives that has proved to be more successful and innovative is its social enterprises, which include The Staples Bag, Humble Creatives and a hospitality program where participants can obtain first-hand experience in a professional kitchen. Each enterprise represents a different sector and requires a distinct set of skills, offering job seekers various options to gain work experience and improve their prospects of finding a job. So far, 300 people who have undertaken work experience with one of the SSI social enterprises have secured a job.

There has been a noticeable increase in the number of supporters and customers going to The Staples Bag Campsie store lately after being featured in the media for the great work it does in the community. If you haven’t come across them yet, don’t miss the stories aired on SBS World News, SBS Radio and SBS Radio Arabic.

Humble Creatives also made a splash on social media this month thanks to its new promotional video, which you can watch below.

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The employment services for SSI clients or anyone in the community looking for a job don’t finish here. We are proud to announce that SSI Employment has recently started a new program, EmployAbility, which offers people with disability interested in obtaining relevant work experience the opportunity to access the job market. To prepare for EmployAbility, this month, SSI Employment staff members have received disability awareness training from the Jeder Institute. EmployAbility also has the support of Ability Links NSW (ALNSW), which SSI has been delivering since 2014 with great results. Together, ALNSW and EmployAbility have already assisted 10 candidates to either find volunteering work, education, or gain paid employment in January.

We’ve got more good news to deliver this month on the employment front. I’m thrilled to be able to share with you that we will soon start delivering another employment program to assist newly-arrived refugees who have professional or trade skills, or qualifications, once they can demonstrate English proficiency. Settlement Services Career Pathways will support participants to develop and pursue a career pathway plan to guide them in finding and securing meaningful employment opportunities that suit their pre-arrival work history, qualifications and skills. We’ll share more details about this program on the SSI News blog soon.

Meanwhile, I’m also pleased to report that the third cohort of SSI clients will be joining Allianz Australia as cadets in the next few weeks. This unique partnership between Allianz and SSI has so far employed seven cadets full-time with the insurance company, which has committed to offering permanent career placements for up to 20 cadets who came to Australia as refugees.

All the above shows that at SSI we believe employment is a fundamental step for any member of the community towards a life of independence and choice, and this is why we are working hard to expand the diversity of employment programs and initiatives to cater for a range of people.

This is reflected in this month’s newsletter, where you’ll meet Virginia, a single mother who is now getting ready to get back to work through the ParentsNext program, as well as Sandy and Jorge from the Ignite Resource Team, which helps people of refugee background set up their own business. I hope you enjoy these good news stories.

A collection of photos from the Sweet Auburn Tweets book launch.

The launch of the book, Sweet Auburn Tweets, was celebrated in December, when participating families — from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nepal and South Sudan — each received a copy.

The partnership began in 2015 when the Family Creative Hub worked with families from the ADSi multicultural playgroup and developed art and craft workshops focused on traditional nursery rhymes. That led to a small collection of lullabies called Auburn Twinkles, produced by Eddie Abd.

Following the success of Auburn Twinkles, it was decided to run the project again in 2016 with a new group of families. Workshops were held at ADSi in August and September.

The team was composed of visual artist Marian Abboud, storyteller and facilitator Nisha Shrestha, acting Producer for Family Creative Hub Yamane Fayed, and playgroup staff.

The sessions’ format was similar to a playgroup but explored the theme of migration through reference to migrating birds and the symbolic meaning of birds from the participants’ cultural backgrounds.

The children and their parents or carers (mostly mothers and grandmothers) created the artworks with Ms Shrestha and used traditional designs to decorate the crafts. Then Ms Abboud conducted Photoshop workshops so the group could digitally incorporate their designs into photographs.

With the help of a designer (Ms Abd) they added the variety of languages spoken by the participants and produced Sweet Auburn Tweets, a beautiful collection of art, poems and songs inspired by the families’ own experiences, interests, stories and traditions.

Ms Fayed said, “It was enriching for all of us, participants as well as facilitators, as we learned about each other’s cultural background. We found differences but also so many similarities.

“We worked with the mothers and grandmothers on traditional songs that referenced birds in their own languages and we found out that some words in some languages like Urdu and Arabic, or Hindi and Nepalese, were very similar.

“Of course, we know languages are connected and have evolved from different main language roots but it was fascinating for the families to realise that we are so much alike, whether we lived originally in the Middle East or in the Indian subcontinent.

“The families shared very precious memories of their lives back in their homeland and we cherished that wealth of knowledge.”

She said it was possible to see in the book how happy everyone was to share their songs.

“The whole process was very interesting — funny at times and a bit more emotional when people were reminiscing on bittersweet memories,” she said.

ICE is a western Sydney community arts organisation working in the areas of cultural development, screen culture and digital technology.

The ICE Family Creative Hub is a free creative program for newly arrived refugee and migrant families with preschool children living in and around Parramatta. It is part of the National Community Hubs Program funded by the Scanlon Foundation with funding from the Department of Social Services received through Community Hubs Australia and managed by Settlement Services International.

SSI Community Hubs

Omukulthom and her family are seeking asylum in Australia.

Omukulthom had only just arrived in Sydney with her husband and three-year-old daughter when she found out she was pregnant with her now 16-month-old son.

‘When I arrived, I didn’t know anything about Sydney, even where to go to do shopping. I had very low English and was pregnant,” she said.

Originally from Burma, the family sought asylum in Australia and had only recently been released from the Christmas Island immigration facility, so they didn’t have any of the basic items that newborns require.

Omukulthom’s SSI case manager sought help from the Dandelion Support Network — a network of volunteers who accept and distribute items to mothers in need.

“I received everything I needed for a newborn baby, including a pram, nappies, formula and a cot,” she said. “My heart was so happy. I was in need and I didn’t have money to buy those things.”

Omukulthom is one of the many refugees and people seeking asylum who have benefited from more than 250 donations the Dandelion Support Network has made to SSI clients over the past three years. These items have included nursery essentials, clothes, toys and linen for babies and children, all of which are sorted and safety checked by a team of volunteers, who then distribute them to families in need.

Dandelion Support Network Partnerships and Sustainability Officer Sarah Mross said those donations offered new mothers more than just physical support.

“It’s a sign to someone in their time of need that the community cares about them,” she said.

“Our most critical items are cots, bassinets, prams and car seats, which are really hard for families to purchase when they’re struggling. We hear stories of women who have a 10-month-old child and they have to carry them everywhere because they can’t afford a pram.”

She said the vision of Dandelion Support Network was that all babies and children had access to nursery items that were essential for their safety, wellbeing and development.

SSI Community Engagement and Capacity Manager Trina Soulos said organisations like Dandelion Support Network supplemented the services SSI offered to people who were newly arrived to Australia.

“SSI’s humanitarian programs help new arrivals to establish themselves independently in Australia by linking them with essential services and supporting them to find housing and employment and forge links in the community,” she said.

“Refugees and people seeking asylum, however, face many unique challenges. They often arrive on our shores with little more than the clothes on their back, so it takes cooperation from many different organisations to help them find their feet.”

The Dandelion Support Network does not receive government funding so it relies on volunteers and community donations of quality used items to continue helping parents in need like Omukulthom. To find out more about how to support their work, click here.

Tree of (my life), Mohammed, photography, digital print on canvas, 122x85cm.

In his native country of Iraq, Mohammed was a successful theatre performer and an exhibiting artist with his own photography studio. He completed a college degree in theatre performance. He appeared in several stage and radio productions before he was forced to flee Iraq and seek asylum in Australia in 2013.

Mohammed was supported by SSI’s Status Resolution Support Services program, which provides essential assistance to people living in the community while their application for refugee status is assessed.

It was through his SRSS case manager that Mohammed first became aware of SSI’s Arts and Culture program, which supports newly arrived artists by identifying relevant networks and providing professional development and performance opportunities while they are seeking asylum or during their early stages of settlement.

“SSI helped me to start my life in Australia,” Mohammaed said. “When I came, I didn’t know anyone, but SSI helped me to form a network with artists, people and friends.”

“Someone who was a director saw my artwork in my first SSI exhibition and then read my biography in the catalogue. She wanted me to take photos of an upcoming play, but I told her that before I was a photographer, I was an actor. I applied for her play and won an acting role where I told my story about how I came to Australia.”

The show, Origin-Transit-Destination, was an immersive theatre experience that took theatre-goers on a journey into issues facing people seeking asylum. Mohammed has gone on to co-create a short film, The Suffering of the Asylum Seeker and land an Arabic-speaking role in the 2016 film, Ali’s Wedding.

“I like being a photographer, but I feel most myself on stage and in films,” he explained. “If I hadn’t done that first exhibition, I would never have met the director and gotten to continue with my artistic culture and meet other people. The first step was SSI.”

Mohammed now runs his own photography business, which he established with the support of SSI’s Ignite Small Business Start-ups, and he recently took out first place in the contemporary category of the Fisher’s Ghost Art Award.

Since participating in SSI’s Art is Our Voice exhibition in 2014, Mohammed has also created works for Home: Between Here and There and last year’s New Beginnings: Refugee Arts and Culture Festival, where his artwork, which was sold on the opening night, centred on the tree of life – a symbol for his intention to continue in life regardless of the struggles he faces.

SSI is holding the New Beginnings: Refugee Arts and Culture Festival again in 2017, and there are a number of ways to get involved with this celebration of hope, unity and new beginnings.

Sandy Haig and Jorge Perez from the University of Wollongong are part of the Ignite resource team.

Ignite works with the support of business mentors and a Resource Team made up of volunteers from local businesses, councils, individuals and academic institutions that can share their business knowledge and skills. UOW’s Business Internship Program provides Ignite with students who can assist entrepreneurs in the areas of accounting, finance, marketing or human resources, giving students a practical stint in the real world of business and increasing their chances of finding a job once they finish.

“We tell our students that only having a degree isn’t enough anymore in the current highly competitive workforce,” said UOW Business Liaison Manager Sandy Haig.

“Undertaking an internship with Ignite provides them with the opportunity to face professional challenges that any businessperson or entrepreneur has to deal with, making them more work-ready and ultimately more employable.”

UOW students on placement at Ignite have to have completed the second year of their degree, have a minimum of a credit average mark and go through a selection process and an interview like for any other job position, Ms Haig said.

The Business Internship Program receives numerous applications from students eager to enhance their resume outside the university walls. The key, however, is to match the right person with the type of business where they can better fit in, especially in the case of Ignite.

Internship and Business Liaison Coordinator Jorge Perez said the type of students who are matched with Ignite are those who go beyond expressing an interest for the business and corporate world, but that want to connect with other cultures and people.

“Ignite is also a very interesting opportunity for those who have in mind starting their own business in the future, so they can see how it’s done from scratch,” Mr Perez said.

Students who have completed their internship at Ignite are usually very satisfied with the experience as they get to perform hands-on work and make business decisions, something that is less common at a big corporate organisation, said Mr Perez.

Ignite Initiative Coordinator Dina Pertarkis said having the UOW’s Business Internship Program on the Resource Team has been extremely positive for Ignite and that both organisations now had an efficient program that works well and benefits both parties.

“The staff at the Business Internship Program are amazing at selecting the students who are more fitted for Ignite,” said Ms Petrarkis.

“We are really happy with the partnership.”

Since 2015, around 30 business students from the UOW have successfully undertaken an internship with Ignite.

Ignite Small Business Start-ups

 

 Rahaf Alrifai arrived from Syria in 2016

“I was supposed to come here three days a week and develop a plan with my assigned recruitment officer to look for a job,” Ms Alrifai said.

“They asked me what type of job I would like to do and when I told them about my background, they offered me the data entry assistant vacancy they had. It was incredible!”

In Aleppo, Syria, Ms Alrifai was a computer engineer teaching at university and doing research. War, however, forced her family to leave Syria and she, her husband and three children waited in Lebanon for two years before being granted a humanitarian visa.

Aware that things would probably not be easy in Australia at the beginning, Ms Alrifai prepared herself for a tough life and studied English to give herself a good head start.

However, with the support of SSI, things have been much better than what she expected and after just four months her family are settled and very happy in their new home, she said.

“My children have been enrolled into mainstream school, and I already have a job that I enjoy, where I can keep improving my English, which is my main objective at the moment.”

“Besides my technical skills, it is also an asset that I speak Arabic so that I can act as an interpreter when it’s needed for many of the clients that come to the SSI Employment offices.”

“SSI helped me to be able to dream again; now I can dream of a better future here in Australia.”

SSI Employment

 Mr Elgey is putting his business experience to use helping young refugees and migrants.

Mr Elgey is one of dozens of mentors giving flexible career support to refugee and migrant youth as part of SSI Youth@Work – an innovative program that helps these young workers to overcome the unique workplace barriers they face and retain employment.

“The importance of having a job is enormous – it does so many things above providing money, which is of course, important. It gives you contact and conversations with other people, shared experiences, social events and friendships. And the pride you get from doing a good job and earning your pay can do wonders for your self-esteem,” he said.

Young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds face unique challenges that can affect their ability to secure and retain work, such as disrupted early education, separation from family, language barriers and a lack of knowledge about the local employment environment and employers’ expectations.

“Navigating the workplace can be daunting, particularly for a young person new to Australia. It’s inspiring to be part of their growth and development,” Mr Elgey said. “I feel tremendous pride for my country and know that I am lucky to have been born in such a society. It’s a great feeling to lend a hand to those who now choose to call Australia home and want to work to be part of it.”

For the past two months, Mr Elgey has been mentoring Sayed, a young man from Afghanistan who came to Australia as a refugee last year.

“In a very short period of time, he has found and kept a job in construction, and his English skills are improving. He enjoys his work and knows many suburbs and transport options around Sydney already due to the locations he gets to work in – more places than some people who have lived in Sydney for a very long time!” Mr Elgey said.

While the pair were both a bit nervous during their initial meeting, they’ve now settled into a relaxed mentoring routine.

“So far, we have exchanged a few texts – checking that everything is okay and there are no issues or questions regarding his work, pay, holidays and so forth, Mr Elgey said. “We have met over coffee also and started to talk a little about career planning and perhaps some training in future.”

“I hope it has given him confidence to know he has someone he can turn to if he has questions about Australian workplaces.”

While Mr Elgey has volunteered in a range of areas in the past, his experience with Youth@Work has been unique in that it has enabled him to pass on his own knowledge and skills.

“It’s a great, tangible way to use the experience I have gained in different workplaces, applying for jobs, working with others, managing my training, and to share those experiences with someone who is not as familiar with the Australian way of working and show them how to make the most of (and enjoy!) their job,” he said.

“Being able to help someone experience the positive outcomes from work, improving yourself and forming friendships is a privilege and a responsibility.”

Youth@Work is currently open to young people of refugee or migrant background who are interested in getting one-on-one support and advice to help them to reach their employment goals.

Participants must be:

Service providers and employers are encouraged to refer participants who are likely to benefit from the program.

Dr Sirolli with SSI staff and attendees at the enterprise facilitation training.

Dr Sirolli, Founder and CEO of the Sirolli Institute, led 18 attendees through a mix of theory and practice, discussions about psychology and relationships, observations of interviews with entrepreneurs and shared anecdotes.

A modified and tailored version of the Sirolli model of enterprise facilitation has been applied by SSI for over three years through the self-funded Ignite initiative, which assists newly arrived refugees in Sydney to establish or consolidate a business of their own.

Since 2013, Ignite has supported almost 60 people to establish a small business.

Due to the success of Ignite with people of refugee background, SSI has committed to expanding the model in 2017 to help other members of the community who would benefit from an enterprise facilitation model based on a person-centred approach.

Acting SSI Ability Links Operations Manager Mick Fallon said SSI was very confident in the strength of the Ignite model and has chosen to include Ability Links participants in the initiative.

“SSI’s delivery of Ability Links NSW is based on a person-centred approach so we are excited to expand the Ignite model to help support people with disability to establish a small business,” Mr Fallon said.

“Directing entrepreneurial participants to Ignite will mean our Linkers are better able to support their goals and further promote genuine inclusion and opportunities within communities.”

Other Sirolli training participants included members of the Ignite Resource Team and four staff from Access Community Services Ltd in Brisbane, who were interested in learning how the Ignite uses the Sirolli to underpin its successful program.