50
Settlement
Services International (SSI) is a community organisation and social business that supports newcomers and other Australians to achieve their full potential.
Our work grew out of the migrant sector, but our client groups are now as varied as the Australian population.
We work with all people who have experienced vulnerability, including refugees, people seeking asylum and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, to build capacity and help them to overcome inequality.
We advocate for the people and communities we serve. Our goal, through funded or our self-funded initiatives, is to empower people to change their lives.
Where did your career begin? Were there any key turning points?
My 30-year career has been in the leadership of large not-for-profit organisations.
My mission is social justice for all and I advocate for disadvantaged people to be seen, heard and valued.
I believe that people are key to unleashing each other’s potential. It takes just one person to make a gesture or give someone a real sense of belief in themselves.
That person for me was my dad. My parents arrived in Australia in the mid-1950s from post-World War II, Greece and a bitter civil war. They wanted to offer a better life for me and my sisters.
Dad could not pursue his university studies and with mum had to reinvent himself. As hard as that was, he always instilled in us a sense of belief that we could do whatever we wanted. Our aspirations were only limited to how big we could dream and how hard we were prepared to go get it.
This led me to focus on providing services to vulnerable communities, while applying a strengths-based approach in the areas of settlement, community development and social enterprise.
What are the greatest challenges your clients face?
A common challenge among new arrivals is improving their English. Many want to learn as they understand it will improve their work prospects and open up many other opportunities for them in Australia.
We also help newcomers navigate Australia’s complex social support services. SSI assists new arrivals in not only setting up these services but ensuring they understand the benefits available to them.
Finding a sense of belonging is another challenge. Refugees and even people who have migrated voluntarily or have lived in a community for years can struggle to find where they belong.
We run a number of events and initiatives to help support every Australian, new and established, find their place in their community.
Fortnightly we hold Community Kitchens where community members collaborate in performance, workshops, activities and cooking. We invite everyone to participate in the sharing of language, faith and customs and help make our community strong through our shared diversity.
We also recognise that one of the most effective ways to help the people we support is through economic participation; building a true sense of identity and contribution in one’s life. This has led to our extensive investment in research, service design, corporate partnerships and social enterprises.
Programmes such as ParentsNext, EmployAbility, Youth@Work and Ignite Small Business Start-ups illustrate our tailored approach to better career pathways and access to work.
What are the greatest challenges for your organisation?
One of the most consistent challenges we face is changing hearts and minds to create an inclusive, welcoming society.
The media often focuses on personal prejudices or agendas which can drive and add fuel to conversations which do not reflect a majority of Australian’s attitudes.
From my experience I believe the majority of Australians are incredibly open and welcoming to newcomers and the contributions they make to our society.
For example, at a recent event, Uncle Ray Davison of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and Elder of the Gadigal People shared his perspective on multiculturalism as a First Australian. He said whether you have been in Australia for one year or 1,000 years, this land sustains us and has become a part of us, making all of us Australian in the most literal sense of the word.
Given our staff are our most valuable asset in achieving our goal of growing an inclusive and welcoming society in Australia ensuring their wellbeing is also a critical challenge for SSI.
Many newcomers have experienced significant trauma in their journey and this can have a significant knock-on effect for our staff, who support them on a regular basis.
We train our staff to not only support newcomers who live with the effects of trauma, but also to recognise the effects this interaction might have on themselves and their colleagues.
From a broader perspective, the community sector is facing growing community needs against a background of limited funding.
The Community Council for Australia (CCA) has highlighted that ‘Charities and not-for-profits serving the same communities may need to work much harder at collaboration and possible mergers … not just because it is in their interests but also in the interests of the communities they serve’.
And the greatest triumphs?
In SSI’s six years we’ve experienced unprecedented growth. We’ve grown from 60 to 700 staff, from a $9 million to $110 million business and from working on our own to 45 partnerships. One of our greatest achievements has been in providing settlement support for a large range of people from different backgrounds. In 2016-17, SSI supported 10,000 refugees settle in Australia. From this one flagship programme we now have 14 programmes that support many different individuals and families who are experiencing vulnerability. This might be homelessness, unemployment, forced displacement — or even a combination of these.
I am also extremely proud of our work in establishing SSI as a respected voice in migration and settlement services on a global stage.
Our Ignite Small Business Start-Ups is an excellent example of the commitment and innovation of our staff, who built an amazing grass roots concept into a fully functional social enterprise. It came about from identifying a need and developing a tailor-made solution to fulfil it.
Ignite supports migrants from all backgrounds in establishing their own successful business in Australia. It’s often the case that newcomers have a great vision for successful business opportunities, but simply lack the knowledge of Australia’s complex business practices to capitalise on their ideas.
Ignite provides business advice and assistance which enables newcomers to make an informed decision before starting up their business.
Ignite has now gone international after the licence to use the business framework was sold to government entities in Canada.
How important do you think it is that people have meaning in their work?
Giving someone a purpose, a goal to strive for, helps incite passion in their work and encourages innovation.
Those we support in their settlement journey often have tons of passion that they’re ready to invest in both themselves and their work.
A large proportion of our migrants end up starting their own businesses or contributing to the industry in which they choose to apply themselves. Often all they need is an opportunity.
The same can be said for our staff. Many of our people have their own migration journeys to share, which drives their passion for supporting the settlement of others.
How can people help?
We have many ways people can support the communities we work with.
An extremely rewarding way is to become a volunteer. We have hundreds of volunteers that work in varied community and corporate roles including: mentoring, coaching entrepreneurs, teaching English, gardening, playgroups and assisting in social enterprises.
Our existing corporate partners and their staff engage with us in a range of ways including:
•
•
•
•
•
•
We’d also would love to hear from potential partners and any ideas they may have about enhancing the work we do.
Lastly as we are a charitable organisation people can donate to SSI.
To find information on volunteering, corporate partnership and donating visit our website (www.ssi.org.au).
Settlement
Services International (SSI) is a community organisation and social business that supports newcomers and other Australians to achieve their full potential.
Our work grew out of the migrant sector, but our client groups are now as varied as the Australian population.
We work with all people who have experienced vulnerability, including refugees, people seeking asylum and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, to build capacity and help them to overcome inequality.
We advocate for the people and communities we serve. Our goal, through funded or our self-funded initiatives, is to empower people to change their lives.
Where did your career begin? Were there any key turning points?
My 30-year career has been in the leadership of large not-for-profit organisations.
My mission is social justice for all and I advocate for disadvantaged people to be seen, heard and valued.
I believe that people are key to unleashing each other’s potential. It takes just one person to make a gesture or give someone a real sense of belief in themselves.
That person for me was my dad. My parents arrived in Australia in the mid-1950s from post-World War II, Greece and a bitter civil war. They wanted to offer a better life for me and my sisters.
Dad could not pursue his university studies and with mum had to reinvent himself. As hard as that was, he always instilled in us a sense of belief that we could do whatever we wanted. Our aspirations were only limited to how big we could dream and how hard we were prepared to go get it.
This led me to focus on providing services to vulnerable communities, while applying a strengths-based approach in the areas of settlement, community development and social enterprise.
What are the greatest challenges your clients face?
A common challenge among new arrivals is improving their English. Many want to learn as they understand it will improve their work prospects and open up many other opportunities for them in Australia.
We also help newcomers navigate Australia’s complex social support services. SSI assists new arrivals in not
only setting up these services but ensuring they understand the benefits available to them.
Finding a sense of belonging is another challenge. Refugees and even people who have migrated voluntarily or have lived in a community for years can struggle to find where they belong.
We run a number of events and initiatives to help support every Australian, new and established, find their place in their community.
Fortnightly we hold Community Kitchens where community members collaborate in performance, workshops, activities and cooking. We invite everyone to participate in the sharing of language, faith and customs and help make our community strong through our shared diversity.
We also recognise that one of the most effective ways to help the people we support is through economic participation; building a true sense of identity and contribution in one’s life. This has led to our extensive investment in research, service design, corporate partnerships and social enterprises.
Programmes such as ParentsNext, EmployAbility, Youth@Work and Ignite Small Business Start-ups illustrate our tailored approach to better career pathways and access to work.
What are the greatest challenges for your organisation?
One of the most consistent challenges we face is changing hearts and minds to create an inclusive, welcoming society.
The media often focuses on personal prejudices or agendas which can drive and add fuel to conversations which do not reflect a majority of Australian’s attitudes.
From my experience I believe the majority of Australians are incredibly open and welcoming to newcomers and the contributions they make to our society.
For example, at a recent event, Uncle Ray Davison of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and Elder of the Gadigal People shared his perspective on multiculturalism as a First Australian. He said whether you have been in Australia for one year or 1,000 years, this land sustains us and has become a part of us, making all of us Australian in the most literal sense of the word.
Given our staff are our most valuable asset in achieving our goal of growing an inclusive and welcoming society in Australia ensuring their wellbeing is also a critical challenge for SSI.
Many newcomers have experienced significant trauma in their journey and
this can have a significant knock-on effect for our staff, who support them on a regular basis.
We train our staff to not only support newcomers who live with the effects of trauma, but also to recognise the effects this interaction might have on themselves and their colleagues.
From a broader perspective, the community sector is facing growing community needs against a background of limited funding.
The Community Council for Australia (CCA) has highlighted that ‘Charities and not-for-profits serving the same communities may need to work much harder at collaboration and possible mergers … not just because it is in their interests but also in the interests of the communities they serve’.
And the greatest triumphs?
In SSI’s six years we’ve experienced unprecedented growth. We’ve grown from 60 to 700 staff, from a $9 million to $110 million business and from working on our own to 45 partnerships. One of our greatest achievements has been in providing settlement support for a large range of people from different backgrounds. In 2016-17, SSI supported 10,000 refugees settle in Australia. From this one flagship programme we now have 14 programmes that support many different individuals and families who are experiencing vulnerability. This might be homelessness, unemployment, forced displacement — or even a combination of these.
I am also extremely proud of our work in establishing SSI as a respected voice in migration and settlement services on a global stage.
Our Ignite Small Business Start-Ups is an excellent example of the commitment and innovation of our staff, who built an amazing grass roots concept into a fully functional social enterprise. It came about from identifying a need and developing a tailor-made solution to fulfil it.
Ignite supports migrants from all backgrounds in establishing their own successful business in Australia. It’s often the case that newcomers have a great vision for successful business opportunities, but simply lack the knowledge of Australia’s complex business practices to capitalise on their ideas.
Ignite provides business advice and assistance which enables newcomers to make an informed decision before starting up their business.
Ignite has now gone international after the licence to use the business framework was sold to government entities in Canada.