Mosaic Multicultural Connections
Mosaic Multicultural Connections provides settlement support to eligible migrants and refugees in the New England area.
The Settlement Grants target group comprises permanent residents who have arrived in Australia during the last five years as:
- Humanitarian entrants
- Family stream migrants with low levels of English proficiency
- Dependents of skilled migrants in rural and regional areas with low English proficiency
Selected temporary residents (Prospective Marriage, Provisional Partner, Provisional Spouse and Provisional Interdependency visa holders and their dependents) in rural and regional areas who have arrived in Australia during the last five years and have low English proficiency also fall within the target group.
Mosaic Multicultural Connections provides migration support across various visas to individuals or business owners through our registered migration agents based in Newcastle. Most migration advice requires a fee for service above the cost of the visa application costs charged by the Australian Government.
Other supported services Mosaic provides in the New England area include:
- Multicultural Women’s Group meets weekly during school term
- Monthly Multicultural Men’s Group meet every third week of the month
- Monthly Multicultural Young adults meet every third week of the month
- Convenes and facilitates the New England Multicultural Interagency
- Convenes and facilitates Multicultural Youth Action Group
- Outreach and casework services across the New England area including Inverell and Moree
- We provide Homework and Learning Centres in partnership with Drummond Primary School and Armidale Sanctuary offering a weekly after-school Homework Program to eligible Migrant and Refugee public school students
- The Regional Employment Agriculture Project (REAP) in Armidale provides access to employment-ready training programs to migrant and refugee communities to upskill for employment opportunities in Agriculture and other related industries.
- Cultural awareness training
Contact:
Madan Narayanamurthy, Regional Coordinator - Settlement and Communities (New England)
86 Beardy Street Armidale NSW 2350
P: 0499 269 067
E: M.Narayanamurthy@mosaicmc.org.au
W: www.mosaicmc.org.au
Funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services. Visit www.dss.gov.au for more information.
Refugee settlement in Armidale
Community organisation and social business Settlement Services International has overseen the settlement of over 600 refugees from Iraq and Syria in Armidale since February 2018 under the Federal Government’s Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP), which provides refugees with assistance on arrival and beyond.
When people are granted certain visas to resettle in Australia, they are referred by the Department of Home Affairs to an HSP service provider to access support under the HSP.
Case managers support families to achieve their settlement goals, to become familiar with the local community and connect with essential services, such as housing, education, English programs, health and employment assistance
In tandem with HSP services, SSI has implemented an integration model that includes community engagement, arts and culture, volunteering, project management, and marketing and communications. The goal is to foster self-determination so that the newly arrived families become permanent, productive and valued members of the Armidale community.
Participation in the HSP is voluntary and services are delivered to clients through a needs-based case management approach for 6-18 months. When refugees have achieved the HSP outcomes they are exited and referred to a longer-term settlement program called Settlement Engagement and Transition Support (SETS).
Mosaic Multicultural Connections has delivered migrant support programs and case management services in Armidale since 2004. Mosaic Multicultural Connections delivers the SETS program, which equips and empowers refugee and migrant communities to address their settlement needs during the first five years of arrival. Funded by the Federal Government, SETS provides newcomers with settlement-related information, advice, advocacy and assistance to access services.
Community capacity-building initiatives help new and emerging community groups support their community to increase the social participation, and economic and personal wellbeing of community members. SETS aims to ensure longer-term positive settlement outcomes are achieved.