Learning English, connecting with the community, and finding employment and housing will be the key priorities for refugee families arriving in Armidale in the coming months, according to a leading settlement expert. Yamamah Agha, the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP) Manager for community organisation and social business Settlement Services International (SSI), said in the 16 years she had been working with refugees, those areas consistently rated among new arrivals’ top goals for life in Australia.

Six projects supporting refugee communities in south-west Sydney have today received a boost from not-for-profit Settlement Services International’s $50,000 Community Innovation Fund. SSI announced today the first six recipients of grants from the ground-breaking fund, which honours the unsung heroes who contribute to Australian society by offering grassroots support to newly arrived members of the community.

The opportunity to provide a more holistic housing service to people at risk of homelessness is greatly welcomed by Settlement Services International (SSI), after the announcement today by Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister for Social Housing Pru Goward that SSI has been selected to provide Supported Temporary Accommodation (STA) in the Illawarra. SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said the decision by NSW Department of Family and Community Services (FACS) to move away from using low cost motels and caravan parks for temporary accommodation was a great step toward achieving better social outcomes for vulnerable people.

Refugee communities in south-west Sydney will benefit from a spate of innovative new projects when Settlement Services International (SSI) unveils the recipients of its Community Innovation Fund on Australia Day 2018. SSI opened the first round of applications for the $50,000 fund in September 2017 to celebrate the strength and resilience of the community of south-west Sydney and to encourage innovative ideas to support newly arrived refugees.

Settlement Services International (SSI) CEO Violet Roumeliotis has described Allianz Australia winning the annual Human Rights Business Award as a triumph for partnerships between business and humanitarian organisations seeking to support vulnerable members of the community. The Human Rights Awards, presented by the Australian Human Rights Commission at an event in Sydney on December 8, is the pinnacle of human rights recognition in Australia.

Not-for-profit leader and 2017 Telstra Business Woman of the Year Violet Roumeliotis has today been honoured for outstanding service to the community. Ms Roumeliotis, the CEO of Settlement Services International (SSI), received the title of Community Fellow from Western Sydney University in recognition of her contribution to the betterment of society and the eminence she has achieved in her field.

An innovative not-for-profit organisation has today launched in Coffs Harbour, where it will support newly arrived refugees as they begin their lives in Australia. The federal government has selected Settlement Services International (SSI) as the Coffs Harbour provider of the new Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP), which supports refugees from the moment they arrive at the airport until they are established in the community.

Violet Roumeliotis has been recognised as the 2017 Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year.

An eclectic group of Sydney’s newest community members took centre stage at an arts and culture festival in Darling Harbour over the weekend.   On Saturday November 18, Sydney’s iconic Darling Harbour hosted Settlement Services International’s (SSI) New Beginnings Festival in Spring, where thousands of Sydneysiders gathered to enjoy the musical, culinary and artistic talents of people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.  

The 2017 Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year has urged corporate Australia to partner with their entrepreneurial peers in the not-for-profit sector to address commercial and social challenges. As the CEO of not-for-profit organisation Settlement Services International (SSI), Violet Roumeliotis has overseen innovative diversification leading to more than 1,100 per cent revenue growth to $113 million over five years.

2017 NSW Telstra Business Women’s Award winner calls for corporate Australia to look to the not-for-profit sector to find the innovative solutions it needs to address workforce shortages and inspire entrepreneurial thinking.  Violet Roumeliotis, CEO of Settlement Services International (SSI), who won the 2017 Telstra NSW for Purpose and Social Enterprise Award, said her organisation, which she has grown in revenue from $9m to $110m in only four years, is built on an entrepreneurial spirit that has led to innovative approaches to supporting migrants, people seeking asylum and refugees start businesses, join large corporations and fill important gaps in the workforce.

A new resource showcasing an innovative, unique not-for-profit service delivery model was launched in Sydney today. The NSW Settlement Partnership in Focus is replete with success stories of this unique partnership, which is the first of its kind in the settlement sector.

Bass Hill has joined a growing number of communities around Australia that have a dedicated ‘hub’ for parents and community members to connect with each other. Last Thursday, the children at Bass Hill Primary School performed for a large crowd of parents, students and members of the community to mark the launch of a new Community Hub, which will be led by local community members with support from not-for-profit Settlement Services International (SSI).

Artists, craftspeople and gastronomes forging new lives in Australia will take centre stage at a free festival in November that challenges stereotypes about newly arrived communities. On November 18, Sydney’s iconic Darling Harbour will host the New Beginnings Festival in Spring, where thousands of Sydneysiders will gather to enjoy the musical, culinary and artistic talents of people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.

A leadership approach that combines innovation with non-predatory expansion has seen not-for-profit CEO Violet Roumeliotis recognised as one of Australia’s top business women. On Friday at the NSW Telstra Business Women’s Awards, Ms Roumeliotis was selected in the ‘For Purpose and Social Enterprise’ category as the state representative who will go on to the national awards. She was one of 24 NSW finalists in the awards, which recognise the achievements of extraordinary business women.

The organisations in which I’ve always taken an interest — both in the business world and not-for-profit sector — are those that operate like honey bees. They collaborate and generate value for themselves, their communities and their environment.

Not-for-profits from around Australia have banded behind a new national women’s alliance that will champion the unique issues affecting refugee and migrant women. Launched in Adelaide today by the Federal Minister for Women, Senator Michaelia Cash, the Harmony Alliance: Migrant and Refugee Women for Change is a policy and strategy body that will consult with migrant and refugee women nationally to bring about positive change on the issues that affect them.

Community support will play a critical role in the successful settlement of an estimated 200 refugees in NSW regional hub Armidale, according to leading humanitarian settlement not-for-profit Settlement Services International (SSI). Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter, announced on Friday that SSI had been contracted to provide on-the-ground settlement services to an estimated 200 refugees who will settle in Armidale in 2018 as part of the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP). SSI was recently successful in obtaining the contract for two of the 11 HSP contract regions: Sydney and NSW regional, which includes Newcastle, Coffs Harbour and the newly defined Armidale refugee settlement area.

Over 350 women from across Sydney and communities worldwide attended the second annual Women of Diversity Dinner in Bankstown on July 29 — over 50 of them having been in our community less than six months. 

Settlement Services International (SSI) will provide settlement services to refugees and humanitarian entrants under the new Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP), continuing its long-term work in this area. In Canberra today, the Australian Government announced SSI was successful in two of the 11 newly defined contract regions across Australia: Sydney and NSW Regional, which covers northern NSW.