One of the precious, and often fleeting, aspects of youth is fearlessness. We’re brave and invincible; we don’t know what we don’t know. And for the lucky few, life has not yet inducted them into its darker, dimmer corners.

The holiday season at SSI always brings to the fore the warmth and compassion that exists within our community. In contrast to the commercialism often intertwined with the gift-giving season are the actions of folk like the Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group and Ashfield Public School P&C ― just two of the many groups who, in recent weeks, have delivered gifts for the individuals and families SSI supports.

SSI staff made a positive difference in the lives of nearly 27,000 people who came through the doors of the organisation’s four primary offices during the most recent financial reporting period, SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis told SSI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Sydney last week.

Settlement Services International (SSI) has joined calls from ACOSS and others in the community sector for the Senate to vote against a bill that will make migrants wait up to four years to access social security.

At SSI, we are getting ready to celebrate International Day of People with Disability (December 3), a United Nations sanctioned day that aims to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance, and recognises the achievements and contributions of people with disability.

The arts and culture festival that brings diversity to the fore — the SSI New Beginnings Festival in Spring — took place at the iconic Darling Harbour on Saturday, November 3, 2018.

Budding young green thumbs of mostly Afghani background have given gardening a go and created a small community garden at the Auburn Diversity Services Inc. (ADSi) offices with the help of SSI’s Friendship Garden ambassador, Muthana.

Welcome2Sydney hosted an intercultural picnic at the Observatory Hill Park to celebrate National Unity Week, October 20–27.

The evidence of the benefits of migration is disconnected from public perception, say migration leaders at an international conference in Sydney this week.

Former-refugee and SSI Ignite entrepreneur Ghazal Ehsan arrived in Australia as a mere fourteen-year-old. Today she is deeply immersed in starting up her own cosmetic teeth whitening business in Sydney.

Italian communities in Griffith, Newcastle and Wollongong will have the opportunity to access disability information through theatre as the play “Io Mammeta e Tu: Me, Your Mother and You” travels across the three towns over October and November 2018.

The Australian Women in Music Awards is drawing attention to the accomplishments of our female musicians, who have traditionally been under-represented in parts of the music industry.

Since arriving in Australia three months ago, a Syrian family now living in Blacktown has been exploring the City of Sydney with Welcome2Sydney ambassadors, helping them become more familiar with the city and more confident about visiting locations independently.

Welcome2Sydney is a new project, co-designed by City of Sydney and SSI, introducing newcomers to Sydney and its residents, and to the city’s history, culture and diverse communities. 

Increasingly, newly arrived refugees are being required to navigate online forms in English for services crucial to their everyday life, such as online banking and Centrelink.

The Zero Barriers Business Excellence Awards in Bankstown on Wednesday July 25 will celebrate 40 businesses and organisations working to make themselves and their communities more inclusive for people with disabilities.

Rashays Casual Dining recently announced that “by 2019 all Rashays restaurants will be deaf friendly.”

Settlement Services International (SSI) was proud to be the official charity partner for the TEDxSydney 2018 Humankind-themed conference on Friday, 15 June 2018 at the International Convention Centre (ICC).

Xiaolong Yang is a middle aged single father who is living with physical and psychiatric disability. After connecting with SSI Ability Links through his linker Kathy, he began learning more about the NDIS, looking at ways to gain support from it and also have a more active participation in the community.

Settlement Services International welcomes the contribution the NSW Government is to make in support of vulnerable children, families, disability services and multiculturalism, according to the 2018–19 NSW State Budget delivered on June 19 by NSW Treasurer, the Hon Dominic Perrottet MP.