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St Ignatius Parish Refugee Support Group
Education, Advocacy and Support
What does the Refugee Support Group do?
The Refugee Support Group based in St Ignatius Parish was established in 2002 and continues to be guided by the vision identified at that time. The group provides Education, Advocacy and Support with the main focus on refugees in detention in Australia and in the community in Adelaide.
The education focus originated in 2002, when it filled a gap by helping refugees in Adelaide to get their educational qualifications recognised, to study at TAFE , to undertake short vocational training courses etc. There is still a strong call upon the limited funds raised by the group. The requests for assistance with education costs come now from some people on Temporary Protection Visas who have been in detention, but a larger proportion come from newly arrived Sudanese people. Considerable activity is devoted to fund raising projects for the Refugee Education Fund.
The advocacy role is addressed through writing letters to policy makers etc, and sending deputations to local members of parliament, and sometimes it is possible to advocate on behalf of individuals on more personal and local issues.
The support role takes various forms. Some members visit or are in contact with people in Baxter, and have visited Glenside when necessary. Some members volunteer with the Australian Refugee Association or the St Vincent De Paul Refugee Support Service and through SVDP are in contact with individuals and families and provide friendship and other support to them. The group can sometimes help with that, but as a group there are not sufficient resources or skills to work closely with individual people who need support from multiple agencies etc.
How does the Refugee Support Group work?
The group has evolved over time and operates as a loose collective of people who come together to undertake group projects (e.g. the Refugee Education Fund) and also to assist and care for each other in their individual support for refugees. The group enables people with diverse talents and varying amounts of time to contribute to a range of activities supporting refugees.
The Refugee Support Group meets every two weeks on Saturday morning at 9.30 am in the Conference Room at the church. The meeting commences with a reflection and proceeds to business and discussion and generally ends by 11 am. Occasional attendance is welcome!
The Refugee Support group welcomes everyone with an interest in supporting refugees.
Ring Julie on 8332 3188 or Virginia on 8331 3838 if you wish to enquire or talk about the group. |
