Casework
During the 2012-2013 financial year SGP caseworkers assisted a total of 203 clients. The quantitative target for the period was 130 clients, thus, SGP caseworkers exceeded the requirement. The target of 20 intensive cases (requiring more than 3 sessions) was also exceeded as 33 clients required this level of service.
A major component of SGP casework includes referrals. SGP caseworkers made a total of 1445 external referrals and 215 internal referrals, well exceeding the targets of 1000 and 100 respectively.
Chart 1.1 demonstrates the demographic of the clientele. The highest number of clients came from Iran, at 16% and Afghanistan, at 10%, followed by Burma and Sudan equally, at 8%.
SGP during 2012-13.
Information Sessions
Fourteen Group Information Sessions were held throughout the financial year, all of them convincingly exceeding the minimum target of attendees set in the SGP Work Program. The topics for these sessions were “Family, Drug and Alcohol Awareness”, “Cross-cultural Training for Professionals”, “Domestic Violence”, “Australian Citizenship”, “Job Preparation and Cultural Awareness Training”, “Financial Management” (two of these sessions were held), “Parenting”, “Housing” (two of these were held) and “Legal Information”, as well as three orientation information sessions specifically targeted at youth on “Life Skills and Transport”, “Family, Relationships and Health” and “Education and Training”. For each of these sessions, specialist guest speakers were present to provide important and relevant information and to answer clients’ questions.
Figure 2: A Department of Immigration and Citizenship Representative presented information at the SGP Australian Citizenship Information Session held on 21st March 2013.
The Cross-cultural Training for Professionals was slightly different to the other sessions in that it engaged professionals in the wider community to receive cross-cultural training, which included listening to speeches on particular cultural norms by leaders from the Karen, Hazara and Vietnamese communities. There was an overwhelming response to this event from the wider community, with sixty-six professionals from government, local service providers and the community service sector in attendance.
Figure 3: Karen community representative, Shin Thu Gay speaking on Karen cultural norms at the 'Cross-cultural Training for Professionals' held on 12th February 2013.
Accommodation continues to be a prominent area of concern for a great number of clients. The SGP Project Officers held the two Housing information sessions with an aim to address these concerns and provide useful information regarding accommodation in the ACT. The sessions were well attended by clients and utilised speakers from ACT Housing, ACT Tenants’ Union and a local real estate agent.
Outreach
As part of MARSS’ commitment to its clients, SGP caseworkers engaged their clients at a variety of locations in the North of Canberra throughout the financial year. Outreach sessions were conducted fortnightly at CIT’s Bruce and Gungahlin campuses as well as at the Belconnen Library. These outreach services are a valuable part of SGP as they allow clients to access assistance at a convenient location.
Community Development and Consultations
As part of community development, SGP caseworkers hosted two Emergency Services information sessions. Information in these sessions was provided by the Australian Federal Police, ACT Ambulance service, ACT Fire Brigade and the State Emergency Services. Such information sessions are instrumental in informing clients of what to do in an emergency and how to avoid emergency situations, as well as creating rapport between the clients and emergency service providers.
To further engage with the community, SGP caseworkers held meetings with the Afghani (Hazara), Eritrean, Iranian and Karen communities. These meetings are extremely important to ensure the SGP caseworkers keep up to date with community issues, concerns and suggestions and in maintaining MARSS’ relationship with such communities.
Figure 4: A representative from ACT Government's Housing and Community Services discussing housing at an SGP information session held on 29th May 2013.
Engagement and Events and Celebrations
Arts and Craft Classes
The Arts and Craft class (held every Friday during the school term from 10am – 1pm) continued to be very popular in the third and final year of the program. Over the three-year period, the class became significant in many of the women’s lives, who attended to learn new skills or improve on a hobby, but also to socialise and connect with the wider community. It became clear that the class provided them with a sense of stability through a regular activity.
The attendees of the class came from various ethnic communities and included Indonesians, Sudanese, Iranian, Afghani, Iraqi, Polish, Pakistanis, Vietnamese, Mexican and Thai women. Two information sessions on business skills were held on 30th of November 2012 and 10th May 2013 respectively.
By the end of the three-year program the women had successful experiences displaying and selling their products at the 2013 Multicultural Festival, International Women’s Day (during which they sold items to Senator Kate Lundy who also presented them with their sewing ‘licenses’) and the MARSS 2013 Celebration of World Refugee Day and MARSS Open Day.
The SGP team, in cooperation with Lynne Johnson (the teacher of the Arts and Crafts class) have been researching local markets for the women to sell their handmade products at, during the 2013-2014 financial year.
Events and Celebrations
SGP caseworkers invited their clients to participate in MARSS activities including the Christmas Party, the Multicultural Festival, the Sport Tournament for Harmony Day, the Celebration of International Women’s Day and the Celebration of World Refugee Day 2013 and MARSS Open Day. All these celebratory events were an excellent opportunity for clients to enjoy a sociable and enriching experience.
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