Supporting refugees in their new community
Unaccompanied Humanitarian Refugee Minors are young people with
refugee backgrounds under the age of 18 who arrive in Australia
without parental support. Many arrive with family members or
have family already living here. The young people in the program
have been granted permanent residency on humanitarian grounds or
are on a Temporary Protection Visa and live with their nominated
carer or their proposer when they first arrive.
Until the age of 18 or until circumstances
change; such as being re-united with their parents or taking out
Australian citizenship, these young people are eligible for
support services under Commonwealth/State Unaccompanied
Humanitarian Refugee Minors Cost-Sharing Agreement and the
Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Child
Safety and the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and
Citizenship.
Mercy Family Services has been contracted to
deliver these services on behalf of the Department of Child
Safety since 1985. Since then, we have assisted young people
from Vietnam, Afghanistan, Europe, Africa and Burma.
We aim to assist the young people and their
carers to achieve physical, emotional and social wellbeing while
maintaining positive connections with their culture and
community.
Some of the carers are themselves young and
relatively new to Australia with little financial or social
support. Young people in the program have often experienced
significant trauma in their birth country or en route to
Australia and may face complex health problems and language and
cultural barriers.
We offer support to young people and their
carers as they settle into Australian society and this may
include assistance with information about:
We work closely with community organisations and
government departments such as settlement agencies, schools,
counselling organisations, housing services, Centrelink and the
Department of Child Safety. We build positive relationships with
the cultural community of the young person and their family in
order to enhance their support networks.
All referrals to the UHRM program are received
through the Department of Child Safety, following notification
of arrival from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
Contact us
Contact: Shenade Sawyer
Tel: (07) 3391 1150
Email:
woolloongabba.admin@mfsq.org.au
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