VARIOUS groups supporting refugees and asylum seekers in Ballarat came together on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the future in the face of government funding cuts.
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The federal government has cut funding to its Status Resolution Support Services - a safety net for vulnerable people with an unresolved immigration status or people seeking asylum and unable to meet basic living and healthcare needs - by 60 per cent during the past two years, which has had a dramatic effect on both the health and well-being of thousands of people and put extra pressure on support services.
According to a report compiled by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, with $139.8 million budgeted before the cuts 13,299 people were accessing the funding but with that amount cut to $52.6 million, only 5000 people are expected to continue to receive it.
Cutting these vulnerable people off from receiving a small amount of income to cover rent and food, to subsidise medication and torture and trauma counselling, the onus is now falling on organisations and charities to fill the gap.
The cuts have caused unprecedented demand for the ASRC and a flow-on effect is being felt in Ballarat too, which is a designated Refugee Welcome Zone.
The ASRC along with members of the Local Government Mayoral Taskforce Supporting People Seeking Asylum, including the City of Ballarat, and community groups lobbied the state government to offer financial assistance to address the rising destitution, vulnerability and threat of homelessness for people affected by the cuts.
In September the state government announced $3 million in funding to assist with providing health and support services to asylum seekers living in communities across Victoria, with $1.19 million delivered to the ASRC to service the western region.
With a number of supports operating in the Ballarat region including Rural Australians for Refugees, Ballarat Community Health and the Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council, offering everything from emotional support due to prolonged periods of waiting for visa application outcomes, financial support, emergency accommodation, medical care and material aid, the ASRC's Director of Humanitarian Services Sherrine Clarke visited the city to discuss the system.
In her presentation she outlined the implications of the cuts and the gaps they have created, as well as the process of referral and assessment for people in the region who may be eligible for state government assistance.
Related coverage: Ballarat becomes refugee welcome zone
But with limited resources there are strict eligibility requirements, which she said was a challenge each and every day.
Ballarat Community Health refugee health nurse Akua Nignpense grapples with the issues through her work every single day.
A refugee nurse in Ballarat for six years, her role is to conduct health assessments and guide refugees with how to navigate the health system but with no services available to assist asylum seekers, she often finds herself playing the role of social worker.
Calling her "angels" at all hours of the day or night in search of accommodation, financial or other support services and running to the Salvation Army regularly to beg for medication for clients who can't afford to fill their scripts, she regularly sees that people's inability to work and requirement to rely on others for survival strips them of their dignity and affects their mental health.
The SRSS cuts have had a big impact. I am a nurse not a social worker but we are all working across the community to help.
- Refugee Health Nurse Akua Nignpense
Despite the struggle and the stress, Ms Nignpense loves helping, especially when she gets results and dances around her office whenever she finds out somebody has landed a job or had their baby.
However, she believes there needs to be more coordination of services within Ballarat to make it easier for people to view what supports are available and how they can access them - especially given the city's status as a Refugee Welcome Zone.
Rural Australians for Refugee Member David Mac Phail OAM initiated the event and is encouraged by the collaboration of the council and grassroots support networks but agreed with Ms Nignpense.
He said there were a lot of positive initiatives happening at the council, professional organisations and volunteer support network levels that he commended but with so many groups offering a varying degree of services, it is imperative that each works more closely together to respond to the needs of people in crisis.
With an estimated 30 families living in Ballarat seeking asylum, it is likely the majority are coming to the region on Safe Haven Enterprise Visas, for which there is a requirement is to work or study for three and a half years in a regional area.
City of Ballarat's deputy mayor Belinda Coates said the cuts were intended to be a deterrent for people seeking asylum and the ways they arrive in Australia but the cold, hard reality she sees as a councillor working on the ground is that the cuts are denying people dignity and it is impacting many to a devastating degree.
Cr Coates said it was important for the community to continue to demonstrate support for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants as an intercultural city and to advocate for improvements as needed.
"Through our combined efforts, and working with ASRC, we can better help vulnerable people in our community who lose SRSS payments," Mr Mac Phail said.
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