A public meeting is being held in Warwick on September 3 to gauge interest in a new community refugee sponsorship program.
The Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) will give Australians a way to directly support refugees settling in Australia.
The CRISP programme is a settlement pathway for refugees without existing family connections in Australia. The program will support 1,500 individuals from the Federal Government’s Humanitarian Program to participate in CRISP over four years.
Refugees arriving through CRISP will have access to the same income support and Medicare as other refugees arriving in Australia. CRISP participants will be helped to settle by a group of trained community volunteers, rather than government-funded service providers. Supporter groups will provide a range of personalised practical and in-kind settlement and integration support, including help with finding housing, work and learning English.
Southern Downs Refugee and Migrant Network spokesman Doug Wilson said community sponsorship will help ensure that refugees have the support they need to find their feet as new Australians.
“It will enable everyday Australians to share their knowledge and networks to support refugees in achieving their goal of becoming full contributors to Australian society.”
CRISP was inspired by the successful community refugee sponsorship program operating in Canada since the late 1970s. More than 325,000 refugees have built a new life in Canada, in addition to those resettled under the government-funded resettlement program.
Southern Downs Refugee and Migrant Network (SDRAMN) is holding an information session on Saturday September 3 at 3 pm in St Mark’s Church Hall Grafton Street Warwick. All those interested in finding out more about the program and/or assisting SDRAMN in this initiative are invited to attend. If you have any inquiries please call Doug Wilson on 0427 611 035.
