An SSI Housing presentation at Cultural Shift 2017 showcased projects offering affordable housing alternatives for vulnerable communities in NSW, including the Emergency Housing Accommodation (EHA) program and a modular home project.

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.

Jasmine was born with Spina Bifida and as a consequence her parents had always been very protective towards her. However, soon after she turned 12, Jasmine's parents felt their support wasn’t enough and that the situation had become too overwhelming to continue on their own.

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.

Over 350 women from across Sydney and communities worldwide attended the second annual Women of Diversity Dinner in Bankstown on July 29 — over 50 of them having been in our community less than six months. 

Diversity and inclusion were at the heart of SSI’s recent collaboration with a colourful celebration of the culture of Iraq.

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.

Meet Jawad, a volunteer at SSI’s fortnightly Community Kitchen in Auburn since 2012.

Magda Szubanski is to be guest speaker at SSI’s inaugural Mosaic Gala, to be held at Merivale Ivy Ballroom on September 15.

We live in a world where nearly 20 people are forcibly displaced every minute as a result of conflict or persecution. A record number of people having to flee their homes and everything they know in search of safety cannot be the responsibility of a few countries, let alone the world’s poorest; it’s a global emergency that warrants global action. 

Lentils are a staple ingredient in diets all over the world — something SSI’s diverse SRSS team picked up on during a discussion about the best way to cook this high protein legume. The only way to settle the debate was to take the dishes to Community Kitchen for a lentil cook-off.

Canada is recognised globally for the welcome it offers to refugees, evident in everything from the Prime Minister personally greeting airport arrivals to its settlement of 30,000 Syrian refugees in a four month period. It was with great delight then that SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis recently accepted a Canadian government invitation to talk about SSI’s work in this area.

Coming to Australia in search of safety means leaving behind friends, family and everything you know. For people like social worker Sarah, it also means starting again after years of studying at university and building up professional experience in her field.

Three years ago, the inaugural Cultural Shift symposium explored and shared the needs of recently arrived migrant and refugee families, and the most effective models and approaches for supporting these families through their settlement journey.

Hundreds of people showed their support for refugees and an inclusive arts community last month by taking part in NSW’s leading celebration of refugee arts and culture.

Volunteering with SSI means coming into contact with people who are still learning English, but Maegan Williams has quickly learned that you don’t need to speak the same language in order to communicate.

When Eleni Christou visited the Greek island of Kos in 2015, she had little idea that she would be heading into the epicentre of an unprecedented global refugee crisis.

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.

When 28-year-old Afghan refugee Karim, who has an intellectual disability, contacted Ability Links NSW (ALNSW), he didn’t know what to expect. All he knew was that he needed support to "get better".

The New Beginnings Festival for Refugee Week brings together new and established communities for a program of visual arts, film, installations and workshops. The festival will include the Singular/Plural art exhibition, featuring established contemporary artists Lindy Lee, Aroha Groves, Alex Seton and Garry Trinh exhibiting alongside newly arrived artists from refugee backgrounds, including Sameer Dakhil — an expert engraver from Iraq.