JRS Australia has two community spaces in Sydney. In 2020 alone, there were: 

3882 people seeking asylum,* refugees, migrants in vulnerable situations served in 21834 instances of service.

12,072 food deliveries so that people had access to fresh food and essential items through our foodbank over the course of the year, with 232 receiving support each week.

1,285 people received 6,547 unique instances of specialist casework support, including accommodation, healthcare, and crisis support.

845 Opal Card concession applications completed, giving people seeking asylum access to discounted public transport

Over 500 emergency relief payments made to assist people to maintain tenancies, find emergency accommodation, and buy essentials.

733 women supported through the JRS Australia Women’s Space and the Finding Safety Project

272 people assisted with work readiness and employment support through JRS Australia’s Employment Program. 

200 dedicated volunteers donated 15,600 hours of service to ensure JRS Australia’s mission and work continued.

In 2020, JRS advocated and engaged with the community for policies of welcome and protection.

Leaders with lived experience participated or contributed to 252 unique instances of advocacy or public engagement, including by speaking in schools, engaging with the media, and meeting politicians.

2878 students around the country through JRS Australia’s schools engagement program.

61 schools partnered with JRS Australia to take action to support refugees and people seeking asylum, including 17 during the National Week of Solidarity 2020.

35 actions run in collaboration with social justice groups to shift hearts and minds for a fairer and more compassionate refugee policy

31 meetings with federal, state and local government decision-makers. JRS also facilitated leaders with lived experience to speak to politicians directly

30 media mentions highlighting issues, challenges, and the resilience of the people we serve.

5 parliamentary submissions, four policy briefs, and two academic papers were produced on issues pertaining to the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum.

Our Annual Report 2019 provides more details on our impact. Please click here (PDF format).

Read about the tangible impact one act of generosity has on people’s lives here.

Resources covering our COVID-19 response including our JRS frontliner team’s reflections can be found here. 

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has been particularly devastating for people seeking asylum. An overview of how we are  responding to this impact can be found here. 

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