In a move that will extend support services to vulnerable families, Settlement Services International (SSI) and Metro Assist are pleased to be working together in partnership to deliver the ParentsNext initiative which begins today.

When thinking of a menu for SSI’s International Women’s Day celebration, head chef Fatima Kourouche drew inspiration from an important woman in her life – her mother.

More than 100 NSW settlement service providers came together for a one-day forum in March to discuss major hurdles facing newly arrived refugees and ways to improve service delivery in the early stages of settlement.

Settlement Services International (SSI) is proud to sponsor the 2016 Premier’s Harmony Dinner, and support the celebration of cultural diversity in NSW. SSI is a community-based, not-for-profit humanitarian organisation providing a range of services in the areas of humanitarian settlement, accommodation, asylum seeker assistance, multicultural foster care, disability support and employment services in NSW.

Fans of Indian film and supporters of Settlement Services International came together on Monday, March 7, to raise funds for SSI’s community engagement programs for refugees and asylum seekers.

Education for people from refugee and migrant backgrounds was the focus of a training event held by the NSW Settlement Partnership (NSP), recently. Loukia Zinopoulos, Settlement Services Manager for Settlement Services International, said the training event was a great opportunity for NSP members to hear how educational institutions could link recent migrants and people from refugee backgrounds to education and training opportunities.

An innovative project that includes a smartphone app that comes in multiple languages has been launched to support men who have recently arrived in Australia on humanitarian visas. The new app becomes available as Australia prepares to welcome an additional 12,000 refugees who have been affected by the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

Through a partnership with Legal Aid NSW, SSI is helping to introduce the subject of family safety and law to newly arrived refugees and migrants through a series of specially designed information sessions across western Sydney. All newly arrived people supported by SSI already take part in orientation sessions that include information on housing, budgeting, transport, caring for children and family and domestic violence; However SSI case managers identified the need to deliver family related information in a more focused way.

A group of former refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia reached a creative milestone recently when they exhibited images produced during eight weeks of photography workshops with SSI and CuriousWorks.SSI has partnered with CuriousWorks, a media arts company celebrating diversity in multicultural Australia, to facilitate a series of photography and video workshops aimed at developing the creative potential of asylum seekers and refugees in western Sydney.

Sourcing the skills and experience to step into the Australian workforce can be a struggle for many people from CALD backgrounds but SSI’s Youth Collective initiative has been helping to break down barriers for young people with a series of new projects.

Some of you may have heard about Maria Sorki, an SSI Ignite Small Business Start-ups client, who fled persecution in Iran and came to Australia as a refugee. Maria made a documentary film about the ancient religious minority, the Zoroastrians in Iran and it was the reaction to this film which meant she had to leave.

People bustling along ANZAC shopping mall in Campsie on a Thursday in October enjoyed an inspiring showcase offered by SSI’s Ability Links NSW (ALNSW) program, which supports people with disability, their families and carers. Ability Links coordinators, called Linkers, hosted the event as a way to speak with the Campsie community about what ALNSW can do for them.

An evaluation report of SSI’s Ignite Small Business Start-ups initiative has found that, with the right support, Australia’s refugees have significant entrepreneurial potential and the ability to contribute to the economy.

Language is an important element of any culture, and being able to speak the local language can make the difference between participating in a new community, or isolation. With this is mind, SSI has offered regular English classes for people seeking asylum.  All participants in the English classes were people who received case management support from SSI’s Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) program.

Community and sustainability were the focus of the inaugural Auburn Community Friendship Garden Spring Party on October 24, but face painting, rock decorating and a live petting zoo won over the dozens of children who attended. Held at the Auburn Centre for Community from 10am-2pm, the Spring Party brought together more than 200 people from the local community, including many refugees and people seeking asylum who are supported by Settlement Services International (SSI).

SSI’s second partnership with CuriousWorks, an arts company that celebrates Australia’s diversity through storytelling, is a photography workshop for people from refugee backgrounds, or who are and seeking asylum.

The Federal Government’s decision to accept 12,000 refugees from the Syria and Iraq wars and provide more funding for the UNHCR has created an incredible amount of public and media interest. The pleasing thing about the interest is that it has been overwhelmingly positive in nature.

Life in Australia began just over two years ago for Mohsen, who came to Sydney 26 months ago as an asylum seeker from Iran. Sydney is a far cry from life in Iran but one of the most remarkable differences for Mohsen is the Australian wildlife, which has captured his curiosity ever since he arrived.

Settlement Services International (SSI) has been awarded for its ongoing efforts to support and maintain the mental health of refugees and people seeking asylum. At the annual NSW Mental Health Matters Awards in Sydney on September 30, SSI was presented with the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities award.

As part of the Sydney Writers’ Festival 2015 My Story project, SSI has organised a series of workshops to support the voices of young people from refugee backgrounds.My Story aims to document the changing face of children in Greater Western Sydney, one of Sydney’s biggest and most diverse regions. Sydney Writers’ Festival is looking for stories about the everyday lives of children aged 5 to 18.