Displaying items by tag: Group Mentorship Program

Tuesday, 02 August 2022 13:34

Refugee Integration and Settlement

AN UPDATE ON CRISP

Taskforce meeting Thursday 28 July 2022
	Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) UPDATE At the recent ACRT meeting a presentation was given by Blaise Itabelo, CRSA's Community Engagement Manager, giving an update on the CRISP program. The presentation was followed by a Q&A with Blaise and Lisa Button. This presentation was recorded and can be viewed by clicking the link below or left. Watch the recording here (27 mins)
CRISP - Community Refugee Integration & Settlement Pilot
	Federal Government program run by CRSA Facilitates support of 1500 people during 2022-2025 The new Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) program enables everyday Australians to play a key role in welcoming and supporting refugee newcomers in line with other international community sponsorship programs. Find out more and register your interest in being involved.
Group Mentorship Program
	CRSA-led initiative launched in 2020 Facilitates support for 350+ people per year CRSA welcomes further groups interested in joining this national program, especially in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane. A group of al least 5 adults who live near each other welcome and support a refugee household The household is on a refugee or humanitarian visa with full access to Centrelink, Medicare, Work Rights etc The group volunteers 10+ hours of support per week between them Group provides ongoing practical support as required e.g. social connection, assist with driving lessons, finding employment Since June 2020 CRSA has mobilised and supported more than 80 mentor groups around the country (comprising around 600 individuals) to work with refugee households in need of additional support. Read more
Background:
	Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA) is an incorporated Australian charity. Visit the CRSA website: www.refugeesponsorship.org.au

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Published in Archive

Community Sponsorship of Refugees

Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia- CSRA

January 2022

New program commencing July 2022

In December, the federal government announced two important new measures that herald a new era for community sponsorship of refugees in Australia.

New four-year ‘Community Refugee Integration and Support Pilot’ (CRISP): CRISP will enable Australian community groups to take primary responsibility for welcoming and settling 1,500 UNCHR-referred refugees over a four-year period, beginning in July 2022. Refugees involved in this program will be able to access Centrelink support and Medicare benefits on a par with other resettled refugees, with the role of community members likely to be focussed on providing welcome, practical support and some basic ‘on arrival’ needs like temporary housing, furniture and household goods and other material needs. More information can be found in on the CRSA website here.
Current CSP program will become more affordable: From July 2022 the visa application charge associated with the current Community Support Program will be significantly reduced. This will make it more affordable for Australians to sponsor the visa of a refugee who is already known to them (e.g. a family member or friend).

While these programs won't expand the size of Australia's humanitarian migration quota in the short term, this remains an important goal to achieve in future years, building on these new foundations.

Thank you to the church groups and individual Australians across the country who rallied to help trail-blaze this new approach by signing up to be a part of the Group Mentorship Program for newly arrived refugees (most, but not all, being Afghan evacuees). Mentor groups are providing much needed welcome, orientation, friendship and practical support, supplementing the role of government-funded settlement services.

Groups have hosted dozens of welcome picnics and other events in communities around Australia and provided families with donated laptops, phones, scooters, toys and household goods to help fill gaps.

Mentor groups are helping evacuees inspect and secure suitable housing in a very challenging housing market (with some successfully negotiating significant discounts with landlords), sort out hiccups with the registration of families with Medicare and Centrelink, provide advice on employment and educational opportunities and advise on the steps that people need to take to have overseas qualifications recognised here.

For more information about joining with the groups involved in a new era of refugee protection in Australia, contact Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA).