For Lebanese migrant Hala Abdelnour, a vision to facilitate an intersectional and inclusive response to domestic violence is becoming a reality through her start-up business, Institute of non-violence (IoNV).
Important milestones such as SSI’s 20th anniversary motivate me to pause from the present and reflect. Looking back over the past 20 years, I cannot help but be amazed at how SSI has both evolved as an organisation and solidified our core mission and values since our founding in early 2000.
Eve is the mother of three adult children with intellectual, social, and behavioural disabilities. She and her husband have uprooted their lives to ensure they can raise her daughter and two sons with the knowledge that their disability does not define them.
Settlement Services International (SSI) has welcomed the NSW Government’s $50 million boost for charities and not-for-profits rocked by the COVID -19 pandemic.
Settlement Services International is disappointed that the federal government is to cut the Coronavirus Supplement received by people on JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and parenting payments while extending it from January 1 to March 28.
In April 2019, five years after fleeing to Lebanon from his home in Syria, Joe Smith* was granted a humanitarian visa to move to Australia with his mother and brother.
From July 1, 2020, Settlement Services International (SSI), in partnership with the NDIA, began delivering Local Area Coordination (LAC) services for the NDIS across two districts in NSW.
Hedayat Osyan is a 28-year-old former refugee from Afghanistan and an SSI Ignite® Small Business Start-ups (Ignite®) entrepreneur who founded a tiling company to support fellow refugees to establish their new lives in Australia.
Australia has a proud tradition in volunteerism, as shown by a remarkable 31 per cent of the population aged 15 and over who regularly offer their time to support others. Those who volunteer for SSI are prime examples.
With the support of IgniteAbility® Small Business Start-ups, high-achieving entrepreneur and autism advocate Haydn Payne launched his own pilot program, PRISM, for job prospects in Blacktown in January 2020.
After fleeing Syria with her family, Sophie Bejek had been in Australia for only six months when she applied for SSI’s Community Innovation Fund to run community cooking classes.
For single mum, Linh*, becoming a foster carer has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.
Partnership and collaboration have been in SSI’s DNA since its formation with member organisations two decades ago. It continues today with partnerships with community and corporate organisations, and SSI’s leadership in the NSW Settlement Partnership.
In 2018, SSI merged with Access Community Services, one of Queensland’s leading organisations in settlement and transition, employment and training, social enterprise and youth service. This merger marked the beginning of a new chapter for the two organisations, enabling both to enhance operations and combine services across two states.
SSI Youth Collective steering committee member and refugee advocate Arash Bordbar was elected Chair of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) in June 2019.
SSI has a rich history of providing support to and advocating for the rights of people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
A unique approach to regional refugee settlement is delivering strong results in the new settlement location of Armidale, offering insights that will guide other regional centres seeking to welcome newcomers as long-term members of their communities.
Over four years of nurturing and growth, the Friendship Garden at the Auburn Centre for Community blossomed from a community engagement initiative owned and run by SSI to a community-run project.
In 2014, SSI established an innovative Arts & Culture program inspired by the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to develop their creative potential and participate meaningfully in Australia's cultural life — no matter where they come from, what language they speak, or their level of ability.