Spring Appeal 2024: Support our Emergency Casework
27 September 2024
Spring Appeal 2024:
Your support can transform lives.
In the spirit of accompaniment, please help us save our Casework and Emergency Relief Program.
As we mark the World Day for Migrants and Refugees on the 29th of September this year, we have the opportunity to centre the experiences of people on the move, and stand in solidarity with people seeking asylum here in our community.
At JRS Australia, our supporters, volunteers, staff and friends do this every day.
In honour of this, we want to share a story with you, which centres on the people we serve, our commitment to accompaniment, and how you can help save our crucial Casework and Emergency Relief program.
Sarah and Joseph’s story
We met Sarah* and Joseph* earlier this year, after they arrived in Australia with their three children, fleeing the conflict in Gaza.
“We lost everything,” Sarah shared with us. “We came with nothing but a very small suitcase.”
Sarah and her family currently live with another family in cramped accommodation in Western Sydney. Because they arrived on tourist visas, the family have no access to mainstream support services. They are not eligible for Medicare, the parents do not have the right to work, and the children are not able to go to school.
The family was struggling to stay afloat and navigate their next steps – and they had nowhere else to go.
This is why our Casework and Emergency Relief services are so crucial.
Having someone in your corner makes all the difference when next steps seem uncertain – and we have been so lucky to accompany Sarah and Joseph through our Casework and Emergency Relief program.
Our Support
We have connected the family to the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) for support with their visa concerns, and provided access to our Foodbank in Parramatta.
Thanks to our generous community, we were also able to offer the family blankets, clothing from our friends at Thread Together and Dandelion, and provide ad hoc emergency relief payments to assist with paying for doctors’ appointments and medication.
Sarah and Joseph also attend English classes at our office every Tuesday, and we have been able to secure early learning care for their two youngest children at GoodStart Early Learning Centre.
Learn more about Sarah and Joseph’s story here.
Our hope is that with continued support through our Casework and Emergency Relief program, Sarah and Joseph will be enabled with the building blocks for a safe, secure and happy life in Australia – where they have the skills and resources to support themselves, provide for their family, and build a permanent future in our community.
However, we are facing a tough challenge.
Our sector is overstretched and dangerously under-resourced.
We receive no State or Federal Government funding for our Casework, and all our emergency relief payments come from our core funds – your donations.
This is why we are reaching out to ask for your support, so we can continue to help Sarah, Joseph, and other families in their position.
This Spring, we need to raise at least $42,000 to continue to meet the growing demand on our Casework and Emergency Relief services over the next 12 months.
Your donation will support people like Sarah, Joseph and their children, to access crucial services, and to have an advocate and friend in their corner as they build a life in Australia:
$50 – helps provide a family with a food voucher to purchase staple household items or baby supplies.
$100 – helps an individual to access essential medications for a month
$250 – supports an individual with an Emergency Relief payment to help them sustain accommodation
$500 – Supports our casework team to provide pathways to safety and opportunity for a family in need.
Every contribution makes a difference – and by donating today, you are actively participating in our mission to accompany, serve and advocate for the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum.
Thanks to you, JRS Australia can continue to walk alongside the newest members of our community, and stand steadfast with those who have been navigating a pathway to freedom for many years.
Please stay in touch
Learn more about the challenges we are facing here, and how through your support, we can ensure we have sustainable funding for our essential Casework and Emergency Relief program.
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