Settlement Services International has marked a major milestone in its 15-year history with today’s endorsement of a new Board of Directors which includes – for the first time – three independent members. Among other changes, SSI announced it has adopted a new governance structure, becoming a Company Limited by Guarantee.

As mass atrocities displace millions of civilians around the world - many of them arriving as refugees in Australia - bringing justice to victims is of paramount importance. At this event, hear keynote presentations by Stephen J Rapp, US Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues, and Phil Glendenning, President of the Refugee Council of Australia and Director of the Edmund Rice Centre. 

International Women’s Day was acknowledged and celebrated on March 11, and SSI used the occasion to highlight the strengths, vulnerabilities and specific needs of refugee women. SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said: “Refugee women are survivors, protectors and providers.”

SSI recently took a group of ‘Women at Risk’, and their children, for a day trip to the Blue Mountains. The SSI W@R (Woman at Risk) Committee arranged the excursion for about 30 clients who are deemed “at risk”. The group was a mix of refugee women and women seeking asylum.

After months of hard work since its inception in July 2014, the start of 2015 saw almost 20 launches of the Ability Links NSW program, culminating in the major Parramatta and Wollongong events. SSI is proud to be funded by the NSW Government to implement this program in partnership with UnitingCare and St Vincent de Paul throughout NSW; a program that will help change the lives of people with disability, their families and carers.

Thank you Premier Mike Baird. Your comments at a recent Australia Day function in support of refugees and asylum seekers were positive reinforcement for all of us who work to help these people make the most of their lives in Australia. I had the pleasure of hearing Mr Baird say emphatically that NSW was in a position to support more refugees and asylum seekers and that the state would welcome them.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis has added her voice to a call by NSW Police and the Premier for calm and vigilance in the aftermath of today’s sad events at Martin Place. “The tragic outcome of the hostage situation in Martin Place has shaken everyone in our community.

A partnership between Legal Aid NSW and settlement services provider Settlement Services International (SSI) has been effective in providing free legal assistance to recent arrivals and migrants, especially in Sydney’s west, an independent review has found. Almost 2,200 services were provided to clients in the first year of the project and the partners today signed an undertaking to continue the successful collaboration.

Water safety for refugees The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released a report* revealing that drowning claims the lives of 372,000 people per year, making it the third leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide. Australia’s statistics aren’t great, the latest figures† show 332 Australians drowned in one year. It is people from low- and middle-income regions, such as those that many refugees arrive from, who are most at risk of drowning.

“As I walked up the stairs I saw her joyfully dancing with the three children to African music that connected them so authentically to their culture – it was beautiful.” Tari, SSI caseworker. Settlement Services International (SSI) was today recognised for the innovation and positive impact of its Multicultural Foster Care Service on children and families in out-of-home care.

The lives and settlement experiences of young refugees will be explored at the fourth and final Speakers’ Series event for 2014 hosted by Settlement Services International (SSI). Titled The strength of youth: young people and their refugee experiences, the event on Tuesday, November 11, will begin with three young people from refugee backgrounds sharing their stories.

SSI’s third Speakers’ Series event for 2014 explored the theme: Perception is reality: How do we form our perceptions of refugees and asylum seekers? SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis explained the significance of the theme. “In recent years we have seen a hardening of views, particularly towards asylum seekers, and the existence of these negative views has resulted in refugees and asylum seekers experienceing discrimination, isolation and not feeling safe in their communities,” Ms Roumeliotis said. “So SSI is committed to understanding public opinion and undertaking initiatives to influence and to try to change negative perceptions. To address these negative perceptions we need to understand how they are formed: to what extent are these negative views shaped by political discourse, media or by our own values as Australians?” The panel: Chris Rau, Superintendent Mark Wright, Professor Andrew Markus and Oliver Laughland.

Settlement Services International’s (SSI) third Speakers’ Series event for 2014 will explore the theme: Perception is reality: How do we form our perceptions of refugees and asylum seekers? The live panel discussion will approach the complex question from different angles following a presentation by Professor Andrew Markus, who heads the Scanlon Foundation’s Mapping Social Cohesion research program based at Monash University. The 2014 Mapping Social Cohesion report suggested that the majority of Australians support a humanitarian settlement program, which assesses refugees overseas but are negative towards asylum seekers arriving by boat. The predominant view is that asylum seekers are illegal economic migrants. Claims of persecution are often ignored as a push factor. These views have increased since 2011. 

  Australia has a long and proud history of resettling some of the most vulnerable refugee women and their families, however, major gaps in support services for these women have been identified and need to be addressed.  Speaking today in Sydney at the Refugee Women at Risk forum hosted by Settlement Service International (SSI), SSI Manager Humanitarian Services David Keegan said that based on consultations with refugee women, it’s clear the current level of support should be reviewed. “Research conducted by the UNSW Centre for Refugee Research suggests refugee women in Australia under the Woman Risk visa category experience higher levels of post-traumatic stress and face greater challenges on resettlement,” he said. As the largest provider of services to refugee women in NSW, SSI has observed that a significant number of refugee women who enter via other visa classes have also suffered extreme physical and sexual violence and trauma prior to their arrival and require higher level specialist support services during settlement in Australia. “SSI currently supports about 1000 vulnerable women, and consultations with 50 women have highlighted a greater need for support services, particularly in employment, affordable housing, health and education,” Mr Keegan continued.

Harmony Day, this Friday, March 21, celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity and coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. To mark the occasion, Settlement Services International Case Manager Nedhal Amir tells her story of arrival in Australia.   Nedhal Amir came to Australia from Iraq with her husband and four […]