A Granville-based organisation that focuses on creating a safe and welcoming environment for asylum seekers has received almost $319,000 in funding, thanks to a NSW Government grant.
The NSW Government has recently awarded additional funding to the service providers helping temporary visa holders and asylum seekers to receive the support they need. Funded through Multicultural NSW’s Emergency Relief Support Grants program, 15 Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) have received a share in $4.2 million so they can continue their work.
House of Welcome, serving under St Francis Social Services, is one of the 15 successful groups, receiving $318,819.00.
Created in 2001, House of Welcome exists to provide shelter, empowerment and a safe and welcoming community for refugees, individuals and families who are seeking asylum.
“We have various programs in our service, primarily a transitional housing program [as well as] emergency financial assistance, a food bank clients access on a weekly basis, employment support and a catering social enterprise,” House of Welcome Casework Manager Ruth Lesmana said.
Set up as an alliance of church organisations seeking to provide a compassionate response to the negative government policies effecting people seeking asylum, Ms Lesmana said House of Welcome looks at filling the void of support.
“It was created in response to the releases from detention, so for people seeking asylum who had arrived and spent some time in immigration detention, some of them were released on a Friday afternoon with no housing or financial supports,” she said.
“So, at the time, a group of volunteers through the Ecumenical Council decided to fill that gap of support needs recently-released detainees required.”
Ms Lesmana said the support from the NSW Government is “very necessary” when it comes to helping their clients, especially following the difficulties the pandemic presented.
“People seeking asylum already faced a myriad of challenges prior to COVID, and then the COVID crisis exacerbated those vulnerabilities,” she said.
“Us as a casework team in particular, we were cheering for the fact that kind of advocacy has now allowed clients to access those supports… this funding has pretty much allowed us to prevent a lot of our clients from becoming homeless.”
Member for Parramatta Dr Geoff Lee said that the funding is about ensuring organisations, like House of Welcome, can keep supporting those who are vulnerable to ensure no one gets left behind.
“This funding will help provide emergency relief essentials, medical support, essential housing support, telecommunications and transport support to young asylum seekers and vulnerable temporary visa holders,” Dr Lee said.
“We understand that temporary visa holders and especially asylum seekers are not always able to access what they need as easily and COVID-19 certainly didn’t make things easier, so this funding is about ensuring these vulnerable people do not get left behind.”
To make a donation to the House of Welcome go to http://www.houseofwelcome.org.au/house-of-welcome/make-donation-house-welcome.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.