Refugees
People who have recently arrived in Australia, especially those seeking asylum after experiencing persecution, violence and dislocation, must often overcome multiple cultural and employment barriers to achieve successful settlement. Our research has focused on identifying effective strategies to promote refugees’ economic and social participation. Projects include:
Women on the Move
Contact: Sharon Bond sbond@nullbsl.org.au
Women on the Move, a mentoring program for socially isolated refugee women, was run by the Brotherhood’s Ecumenical Migration Centre as a pilot in the City of Hume in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. The evaluation assessed its effectiveness in building cross-cultural community interaction, increasing social connectedness of Iraqi and Kurdish refugee women, and involving local business, community groups and service providers.
Report
Sharon Bond 2010, Women on the Move: evaluating a refugee mentoring pilot project (PDF file, 739 KB)
Given the Chance
Given the Chance is a targeted labour market program devised by the Brotherhood of St Laurence's Ecumenical Migration Centre to develop social, educational and employment pathways for refugees. This two-year evaluation, funded by the Department of Planning and Community Development through the Community Support Fund, investigated the effectiveness of the Given the Chance program in achieving successful employment and settlement outcomes for refugees and in strengthening communities. It examined hard and soft outcomes for participants and the extent to which program interventions led to positive social and employment outcomes and greater social inclusion.
Report
Kemran Mestan 2008, Given the Chance: an evaluation of an employment and education pathways program for refugees (PDF file, 704 KB)
Given the Chance evaluation summary (PDF file, 40 KB)