The CEOs of SSI, Connect Child and Family Services and Refuge of Hope on August 31 signed a Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the Community Hubs in NSW. From January 1 next year SSI will be the NSW Support Agency under the National Community Hubs Program.

Sefullah is from the Iranian village of Palk Lak of Arkvazi, in the Illam Province, where he lived before making his journey to Australia. Sefullah is a self-taught artist, who researches different styles of painting and schools of thought. 

Mohammed is a multi-disciplinary artist working in the areas of photography, performance and graphic design.  Mohammed lived in Iraq where he obtained a degree in theatre performance from Basra's College of Arts. In Baghdad, he had his own studio and appeared in a number of productions and radio plays.

Mohanad was born in Nasiriyah, Iraq. He started painting when he was six as he was encouraged by his grandfather, who bought painting material for him. After graduating from the Arts & Carving Institute in Iraq, Mohanad moved to Syria where he kept painting, drawing and showing his works in several exhibitions.

Mahdi, who was born in Iran, has a passion for calligraphy, creative writing and painting. After finishing school, Mahdi began painting and decorating city walls in Iran where he enjoyed turning dull city walls into colourful and bright themes.

Hayder completed a BA in Fine Arts at the University of Baghdad, in his native Iraq, in 2008. From 2009 to 2011, he worked as an art teacher with the Ministry of Education of Iraq.

Farid was born in Tehran. He started painting at the age of 4, after his mother noticed a creative streak in him. He graduated with a Civil Aviation degree in Iran before arriving in Australia in 2013 with his wife and children. 

Damon began his photographic journey more than 20 years ago with his father’s old Konica camera in Iran. He started experimenting by taking images of nature, people and his surroundings.

Babak was born in Iran where he completed a BA in Graphic Design. His special interests are painting, sculpture, music and graphic design.

From January 1, 2016, SSI will be the designated National Community Hubs Program (NCHP) Support Agency in NSW, enabling the organisation to extend its existing humanitarian settlement work supporting migrant and refugee families.

Meet Hakim, dancer and asylum seeker Hakim, 23, left a lot behind when he had to flee Burma, including all of his family and friends. But after arriving in Australia, he picked up something new that is keeping him mentally and physically strong – dancing.

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.

SSI began searching for a suitable office in the Bankstown area in September 2014, to accommodate staff and service needs of the SRSS program, the Multicultural Foster Care Service and Ability Links NSW, along with meeting, interview, training and function rooms. “(SSI General Manager) Peter Zographakis suggested that we check out a brand new site called Little Saigon Plaza, which was so good that we assumed it would be too expensive for SSI to lease in,” said Janine Stainer, SSI Facilities and Operations Manager.

Thanks to a generous member of the Bankstown community, a 16-year-old refugee boy with cerebral palsy has been gifted a much-needed electric bed that has meant he no longer needs to spend 18 hours a day on his mother’s lap. The boy, whose family was originally from Iraq and is now living in Warwick Farm in western Sydney, previously spent most of the day in his mother’s arms because it was not safe for him to be in a normal bed.

A short film, which premiere’s today, explores the real life experience of homelessness faced by refugee youth living without their families in Sydney. ‘Broken Time’ is the story of Ali, an Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minor (UHM), who falls back on his survival instinct when he finds himself homeless on the streets of Sydney. Developed by Settlement Services International (SSI), which provides services to humanitarian entrants, with funding from The Australia Council for the Arts, the film will be launches today in Bankstown, to coincide with International Youth Day. Dilber Hussain played the role of Ali, and was all too familiar with the experience of his character in the film. Dilber is from Pakistan and arrived in Australia in 2012 as a UHM at the tender age of 17. When his circumstances rapidly deteriorated and he was faced with homelessness, Dilber said he was frightened. “Staying in a different place every night, and with strangers, it was hard,” said Dilber. “I didn’t know how to get help, and I feel very lonely here without my family.”

A short film, which premiere’s today, explores the real life experience of homelessness faced by refugee youth living without their families in Sydney. ‘Broken Time’ is the story of Ali, an Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minor (UHM), who falls back on his survival instinct when he finds himself homeless on the streets of Sydney. Developed by Settlement Services International (SSI), which provides services to humanitarian entrants, with funding from The Australia Council for the Arts, the film will be launches today in Bankstown, to coincide with International Youth Day. Dilber Hussain played the role of Ali, and was all too familiar with the experience of his character in the film. Dilber is from Pakistan and arrived in Australia in 2012 as a UHM at the tender age of 17. When his circumstances rapidly deteriorated and he was faced with homelessness, Dilber said he was frightened.