Myoung Hee Kim, a Seven Hills mother of two, is living proof that determination, strength and unconditional love can overcome the challenges often associated with having a disability. As the carer of her autistic son, Daniel, for the past 27 years, Ms Kim has been the rock supporting and encouraging her son’s artistic development.

Imagine that the world around you becomes quiet. Imagine that as you grow older, simple day-to-day habits, such as talking on the phone, become a struggle. This is what happened to Manly resident Kim Roth, a 62-year-old art teacher, who at the age of 45 developed severe hearing loss.

People bustling along ANZAC shopping mall in Campsie on a Thursday in October enjoyed an inspiring showcase offered by SSI’s Ability Links NSW (ALNSW) program, which supports people with disability, their families and carers. Ability Links coordinators, called Linkers, hosted the event as a way to speak with the Campsie community about what ALNSW can do for them.

SSI’s second partnership with CuriousWorks, an arts company that celebrates Australia’s diversity through storytelling, is a photography workshop for people from refugee backgrounds, or who are and seeking asylum.

Settlement Services International (SSI) has been awarded for its ongoing efforts to support and maintain the mental health of refugees and people seeking asylum. At the annual NSW Mental Health Matters Awards in Sydney on September 30, SSI was presented with the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities award.

As part of the Sydney Writers’ Festival 2015 My Story project, SSI has organised a series of workshops to support the voices of young people from refugee backgrounds.My Story aims to document the changing face of children in Greater Western Sydney, one of Sydney’s biggest and most diverse regions. Sydney Writers’ Festival is looking for stories about the everyday lives of children aged 5 to 18.

Food insecurity is a growing concern for many in the community who are struggling with the rising costs of living. To improve access to basic supplies and help address issues of food security in Sydney, SSI, as a member of CoAct, has launched The Staples Bag which includes an array of food provisions for those in need.

They say home is where the heart is, and for people seeking asylum in Australia this can be a difficult question to answer. For most of them, ‘home’ oscillates between the memories of the homeland they left behind and of a new place that is unknown but filled with hope.

Settlement Services International (SSI) today announced education scholarships worth $60,000 as part of the launch of the new SSI Foundation. Formerly known as the Connect Australia Foundation, the SSI Foundation introduces more categories of support and increased amounts distributed.

As a key provider of resettlement and community integration support to refugees and asylum seekers in Australia, SSI has an important role in ensuring that the views of this marginalised group are clearly represented to local, regional and international stakeholders.

SSI celebrates 12 months of delivering the Ability Links NSW program today, July 22, with staff and partners in Parramatta. The program, funded by the NSW Government’s Department of Family & Community Services, Ageing, Disability and Home Care, began operating on July 1 2014.

Settlement Services International (SSI) has today, July 1, opened its doors as an employment services provider based in Campsie. SSI will deliver the Australian Government’s jobactive services to job seekers living within the Sydney East Metro region.

Today marks the first day of the new Settlement Services Program (SSP) for newly arrived migrants, humanitarian entrants and refugees, delivered by the 22-member consortium NSW Settlement Partnership (NSP).

Settlement Services International (SSI) congratulates NSW Premier Mike Baird following his announcement today that the state government will provide travel concessions to asylum seekers from January 1, 2016.

SSI and partner organisations are in Geneva at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees consultations with NGOs. Over two weeks, NGOS from around the world will discuss best practice, lobby for support and plan to ease the global refugee crisis. Here are the top posts from the consultations.

Faten, a former refugee who fled to Lebanon from her birth country, Iraq, says that since arriving in Australia she feels like she has been treated as a human for the first time. Faten has two siblings with disability and an elderly mother, who are now receiving treatments they were in desperate need of.

Settlement Services International (SSI), a leading not-for-profit humanitarian settlement organisation, has welcomed as significant and positive the announcement by the NSW State Government to sign up to the Federal Safe Haven Enterprise Scheme.

If you are on Newstart allowance, between Monday May 25 and Friday June 5, you can choose who your employment service provider will be. If you need a change, SSI is a provider that will support you through the employment journey.

SSI’s Youth Projects Coordinator Dor Akech Achiek presented at the NSW Ombudsman Youth Week event to raise awareness to highlight the need for support for young refugees in Australia.  The aim of the event was to raise awareness about refugee youth and issues of rights abuse for this group of young people. It was also an opportunity to focus on the role of the NSW Ombudsman’s Youth Liaison Officer. 

Many of the 32 refugees who visited Luna Park with SSI staff and volunteers in April had never been to a theme park in their life. But thanks to Mission of Hope, which donated tickets to SSI for the refugees it supports, these families had more fun than they’d had in a long time.