Become a Mentor to a
Refugee in our Community
BR4R was recently invited by the Community Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (CRSI) to participate in its Group Mentor Program to help a refugee individual or family to settle in our community. CRSI has been advocating for the introduction of a community refugee sponsorship program in Australia, which would enable ordinary Australians to sponsor refugees from overseas. The Federal Government is currently reviewing its refugee sponsorship policies and CRSI is hopeful that a suitable Federal program could be available next year.
In the meanwhile, CRSI, along with a number of key partners, has launched a Group Mentor Program which will pair up to 12 local community groups from across Australia with refugees already in Australia who would benefit from receiving practical support right now. Mentor groups would:
- help CRSI test and refine a comprehensive sponsor training package which has been developed by Canadian experts and others at the forefront of programs in the United Kingdom, Ireland and elsewhere; and
- assist a refugee individual or family for six months in a variety of ways which may include help with orientation in your local community, help finding work, assistance with education and homework or addressing other specific needs, with access to back-up advice from a settlement agency
BR4R would like to form a Mentor Group, and is inviting members to join it. To be eligible, members must be Australian citizens or permanent residents; have no criminal record; can commit about 4-8 hours per week per group; and undergo basic vetting (police checks and working with children checks).
As mentorship training commences in September (8 hours), the deadline for receiving expressions of interest is Wednesday 19th August. Please contact Stanley Yeo ASAP if you are interested or would like to know more (email: s.yeo@br4r.org.au / phone: 04219 55186)
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