Working with local service providers, Sydney MCS is addressing the lack of adequate information regarding services available to the people it supports within the community.

Samira Maksoud is a Syrian refugee who has been in Australia less than six months. But that hasn’t stopped her from finding a part-time job and enrolling to study in two tertiary qualifications.

Community support will play a critical role in the successful settlement of an estimated 200 refugees in NSW regional hub Armidale, according to leading humanitarian settlement not-for-profit Settlement Services International (SSI). Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter, announced on Friday that SSI had been contracted to provide on-the-ground settlement services to an estimated 200 refugees who will settle in Armidale in 2018 as part of the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP). SSI was recently successful in obtaining the contract for two of the 11 HSP contract regions: Sydney and NSW regional, which includes Newcastle, Coffs Harbour and the newly defined Armidale refugee settlement area.

According to Ashod Paloulian, life is like a tennis match: you have to fight for every point and, if you lose one, you just have to try again. Both this analogy and this attitude toward life describe well this 33-year-old Syrian father of two who, only nine months after landing in Australia as a refugee, is already working as a tennis coach with the support of Ignite Small Business Start-ups.

Samira Maksoud has a talent for languages. Despite having been in Australia for only four months, Ms Maksoud has already found a job thanks to her language skills, which span Arabic, English, Turkish and Armenian.

Settlement Services International (SSI) will provide settlement services to refugees and humanitarian entrants under the new Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP), continuing its long-term work in this area. In Canberra today, the Australian Government announced SSI was successful in two of the 11 newly defined contract regions across Australia: Sydney and NSW Regional, which covers northern NSW.

A group of newly arrived gardeners have channelled their shared love of gardening into formal qualifications.

An inspiring group of volunteer teachers are offering free English language tuition to people from CALD backgrounds who are supported by SSI.

SSI kicked off the New Beginnings Festival for Refugee Week with the opening of an art exhibition featuring the work of up-and-coming refugee artists alongside more established names such as Alex Seton, Garry Trinh, Aroha Groves and Lindy Lee.

Moments of healing and friendship amidst uncertainty about the future are at the heart of a community art work that will debut during SSI's New Beginnings Festival for Refugee Week 2017.  

Ladan Haghighat volunteers for SSI in the Friendship Garden at Auburn Centre for Community. That’s fitting because her name, Ladan, is Persian for the nasturtium flower.

Over 200 young refugees have spent a day developing the fundamental skills to successfully settle in Australia at SSI’s E3 Youth Forum, a day of workshops and activities held at the Refugee Welcome Centre in Callan Park earlier this month.

When Najmah Alkhameesi and her family arrived in Australia from Iraq in 2013, they knew they had reached a safe haven where they did not face the constant threat of danger. However, life in a new country, with a different culture, an unknown language and a family member with a disability didn’t turn out to be easy for this family of five.

Yagoona Public School celebrated Harmony Day, March 21, by launching its new $100,000 building for the Community Hubs Program.

We all remember finding our first job. That initial leap into the workplace means navigating a new world with its own unique jargon and requirements like CVs, interview skills and position descriptions.

Global polls consistently rate Sydney as one of the least affordable cities to find a home. The problem is universal, affecting buyers and renters of all ages and backgrounds. This ongoing issue has once again attracted significant media attention in 2017.

Just over a year ago, Abera Tadesse was a refugee. Newly arrived in Australia, he was unsure of what lay ahead but knew he wanted to make the most of educational and employment opportunities and create a better life for his family.

SSI’s first event in Parliament House, Canberra was a resounding success, with Federal Minister Craig Laundy MP vowing to ensure that the Ignite Small Business Start-ups (Ignite) initiative receives the funding it deserves so that humanitarian entrants have the opportunity to give back to Australia.

Harmony Day is about inclusivity, respect and belonging. It was a day that SSI marked in March with a celebration as part of an initiative from Australia’s business sector that will help many refugees to build a sense of belonging in Australia.

Ability Links NSW (ALNSW) has heralded a new approach to supporting people with disability, their families and carers, and is making a significant economic and social impact across the state, according to a newly released independent report.