Hardworking refugee finds employment through SSI
Arriving in Australia with his family in 2016 was the proudest moment of Hassan Abode’s life.
ARIA-nominated hip hop artist joins global talent line-up at New Beginnings Festival
L-Fresh the Lion to perform as part of leading arts and culture festival’s fifth-anniversary celebrations The annual arts and culture festival that showcases Australia’s leading talent from refugee and migrant backgrounds has announced its most eclectic and renowned program to date.
NSW leads the country in unlocking employment potential for refugees
State government agencies and their partners work in collaboration to connect refugee job seekers with secure, long-term employment When Rania Shahoud, her husband and their two sons arrived in Australia in 2017 from Aleppo, Syria, she didn’t know whether she’d ever find a job.
Groundbreaking partnership sparks opportunity for diverse female artists and musicians
For the second year running, Settlement Services International (SSI) is partnering with Australian Women in Music Awards (AWMA) to turn the spotlight on culturally diverse female artists and music practitioners through the SSI Diversity in Music Award.
Inner Sydney’s first low-cost grocer lightens the load for people doing it tough
Sydney’s ongoing housing affordability crisis and high living costs have hit low-income groups particularly hard, leading an innovative social enterprise to open up in an inner Sydney suburb with high homelessness rates. Not-for-profit Settlement Services International (SSI) has partnered with Mission Australia to open The Staples Bag Camperdown – inner Sydney’s first low-cost grocer that provides high-quality nutritious food staples, while also saving an average of two tonnes of food from landfill every week.
From the CEO: Listen, accept, acknowledge, support
At SSI, we talk a lot about providing support. But what does it actually mean to support someone? Sometimes it means offering assistance. Sometimes it just means being there to listen. Sometimes it means acknowledging someone’s challenges and showing that you accept them for who they are.
New book helps culturally diverse children in foster care maintain their identity
A new family resource for children and young people in foster care from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds will be launched by Settlement Services International (SSI) in Bankstown, Sydney, today.My Life and Me, a life story book with a cultural focus, was developed by SSI to address the loss of identity and belonging experienced by CALD children in care.
Furore over welfare figures misses the mark
High levels of unemployed welfare recipients losing access to their payments is indicative of a complex and inadequate system, not a proliferation of ‘welfare cheats’, according to community organisation and social business Settlement Services International (SSI).
Lived experience shapes the future for disability service providers
An innovative new approach to disability services education is using lived experience to help providers better understand the challenges facing people with disability from migrant and refugee backgrounds.
From the CEO: Acting with purpose
Earlier this week, I was uplifted to hear the news that sixteen-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg was awarded France’s inaugural Freedom Prize, which pays homage to people who are fighting for freedom.
New Beginnings Winter Festival forges connections between inner west locals and newly arrived communities
Marking Refugee Week 2019, the SSI New Beginnings Winter Festival attracted more than 300 inner west locals and newly arrived communities to the Community Refugee Welcome Centre in Lilyfield.
House to Home program provides reclaimed household goods to new arrivals
Settlement Services International (SSI) partner The Bower, has provided more than 200 families of refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds with free up-cycled household goods through their House to Home program.
Inclusive Illawarra paves the way for disability employment
A forum in North Wollongong on June 20 will highlight the benefits for employers of being disability confident and ways to capitalise on untapped talent and skills in the local community.
Global refugee youth advocate pronounced chair of Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
SSI Youth Collective steering committee member and refugee advocate Arash Bordbar has been elected Chair of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN).
Australia must step up in response to record displacement
Figures showing another record year for global displacement emphasise the important role Australia can play in helping the world’s most vulnerable, according to one of Australia’s leading refugee settlement experts.
‘Share a meal, share a story’: celebrating refugee stories
In partnership with Settlement Services International (SSI), the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) is highlighting food during Refugee Week (June 16-22, 2019) and asking everyone to ‘Share a meal, share a story’.
Volunteering brings benefits to the community and to volunteers themselves
Volunteering attracts people from diverse backgrounds with a broad range of experiences. This adds to the richness and impact that SSI’s volunteers have across a wide range of roles and programs that support vulnerable people.
From the CEO: Individualism, elections and Refugee Week
Australia’s annual celebration of people who have found a safe haven on our shores — Refugee Week — is occurring at a time of heightened individualism.
Award-winning refugee filmmaker unlocks creativity and talents ahead of Refugee Week
Iraqi-born and award-winning filmmaker Ali Al Azeez is facilitating a series of filmmaking workshops for the general public in the lead-up to the SSI New Beginnings Winter Festival.
SSI staff and Colyton community work towards healing this past Sorry Day
Reflecting on times of great pain, strength and resilience, Settlement Services International (SSI) staff and local community members gathered at SSI’s Community Hub at Colyton Public School, to walk down the long path of forgiveness in recognition of Sorry Day.