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.

Celebrations as an SSI client was ‘Highly Commended’ was a highlight for a group of SSI staff and clients who attended the 2015 Zest Awards at ANZ Stadium on February 19. SSI was nominated in two categories for two Community Engagement initiatives, Community Kitchen and Playtime.

It was a distressing event based on fear and miscommunication in 2010 that was the impetus for Sally Sussman to devise the show that is Origin-Transit-Destination. Ms Sussman is Australian Performance Exchange (APE) Artistic Director and over three performances her latest show will take participants on a journey­ in the company of extraordinary asylum seekers from Middle East warzones.

Students of Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School (SCEGGS) Darlinghurst, and their families have dug deep and raised more than $4,000 for SSI’s refugee and asylum seeker clients, as well as food packages. SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said the generous donation was a boost that would benefit many people.

Settlement Services International CEO Violet Roumeliotis has been named in Pro Bono Australia’s Impact 25 list of the most influential people working in the not-for-profit sector in 2014. Ms Roumeliotis was chosen in the top 25 from 200 people working in the sector, by more than 3,600 Pro Bono Australia readers who voted.

‘Tis the season for giving and membersof Hillsong Church have continued their generous support for SSI’s asylum seeker clients with donations of food and gifts for children and families. The church has supplied Christmas presents for about 100 children in Sydney who are seeking asylum, as well as food hampers for families.

Campbelltown-based SSI staff partnered with MacArthur Diversity Services Initiative (MDSI) in November, to take a group refugee and asylum seeker clients on a day trip to beautiful Fitzroy Falls in the Southern Highlands. The excursion was a chance for SSI and MDSI case managers to engage with the men outside the office environment, to give them an opportunity to meet others in similar situations, and to enhance their wellbeing through a fun and novel experience.

SSI’s Chair Kamalle Dabboussy and I had the opportunity to present at the International Metropolis Conference in Milan in November, and we left with a membership invitation and the beginnings of a bid to host the conference in Sydney. The Milan conference theme, “Migration: energy for the planet, feeding cultures,” looked at a global migration context.

Jenny Yang and Joseph Cheung are an impressive couple, sharing their knowledge and experience with other people with disability in the community. Their energy, enthusiasm and drive are inspiring, and on this International Day of People of Disability they acknowledge and celebrate the many other inspiring people they have met in the community.

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.

Cultural Shift symposium report The evaluation report SSI Cultural Shift symposium on supporting migrant and refugee families through settlement is now available on the SSI website by following this link. More than 250 delegates contributed to an engaging and informative event, and came together to share and develop effective models and approaches for supporting refugee and migrant families through their settlement journeys.

Soccer super-coach Essa said he was proud and honoured to be acknowledged at Auburn City Council Sports Awards recently. Essa, who is from Pakistan and seeking refugee protection in Australia, was a finalist for the Senior Sportsperson Award after being invited to make a submission by council staff.

At SSI’s fourth and final Speakers’ Series for 2014, a capacity live audience heard the remarkable stories of three young people who each fled their birth countries as refugees before coming to Australia. The event, titled The strength of youth: young people and their refugee experiences, was held at SSI’s Ashfield auditorium on November 11, and was also streamed live to an audience online. People can now watch a high-definition recording of the event on SSI's YouTube channel, here.

SSI was a finalist in the 2014 Macquarie Social Innovation Awards, granted by the Macquarie Group Foundation to foster social innovation in the not-for-profit sector. The winner of the 2014 award was the WA-based Fogarty Foundation which focuses on innovative programs and initiatives that advance education, was announced on November 19.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has named SSI as a finalist in the Human Rights Awards 2014 Community Award. SSI is one of four finalists in the Community Award – Organisation, which is awarded to a not-for-profit community-based organisation with a track record in promoting and advancing human rights in Australia.

I was incredibly heartened to see the thousands of people from diverse ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds who walked together on October 25, to show their support for a multicultural Australia where all people are respected.

Cricket has been something of a saviour for Tamil asylum seeker Uthay, since he came to Australia. Uthay, his preferred name, is originally from Sri Lanka and is awaiting assessment for refugee protection. He is a Tamil man, 27 years old, and the potential consequences for men like Uthay in Sri Lanka are such that his full name and image can’t be revealed.

SSI’s Storytelling and Film-making Workshop program culminates this month with a showcase of short films. On November 14, SSI friends, staff, volunteers and clients are invited to a special screening of films made by SSI’s asylum seeker clients during the six-week workshop program.

SSI clients who live in Sydney’s west while seeking asylum, headed east to Mosman on October 24, to start regenerating a neglected harbourside national park. It was the first day of a 10-week volunteering project arranged by SSI and NSW’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).