St Vincent de Paul Society in Sutherland Shire join in Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP)

The move was announced ahead of Refugee Week, June 18-24, and a fund-raising Music Night at De La Salle Catholic College, Caringbah on June 22.

The Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP), which started in mid-2022 in partnership with the federal government, will support 1500 refugees over four years via help from community groups.

CRISP was inspired by a community refugee sponsorship program, which has operated in Canada since the late 1970s, enabling more than 325,000 refugees to build a new life.

Similar programs are now being implemented in many other countries, including the UK, US, New Zealand and Ireland.

Visas for refugees made available under the CRISP are currently drawn from Australia's annual humanitarian intake of 13,750 places per year.

Janice Stokes, Vinnies CRISP coordinator said. "We've committed to supporting these families - from the first day they arrive and over the first year of their settlement".

Ms Stokes said the immediate needs of refugees were identity documents, Medicare and bank accounts, health checks, English language skills and job seeking.

The biggest challenge was finding rental properties in a very tight Sydney market, she said.

The Vinnies shire CRISP team will be fund-raising in many ways, including through Bunnings BBQs and school events.

The Music Night fundraiser at De La Salle Catholic College, Caringbah will be at 6pm on June 22 in Wiyanga, the college hall.

Sutherland regional president of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, said, "We didn't enter this pilot program lightly".

"Vinnies always seeks to give a hand up to people in need and this is a new opportunity," she said.

"With the community's help, we will bring these families from the margins into the heart of Australian society. Our aim is to help write a new chapter of hope in the lives of those who have endured such upheaval and hardship."

This year's Refugee Week has the theme 'Finding Freedom' and is about helping those who have fled war and persecution to find a place to call home, in safety and with the opportunity to flourish.

John Ferguson, social justice co-ordinator, St Vincent de Paul Society NSW, writes:

Imagine your family has been living in fear for your lives. You've been trying to keep a low profile as you have been targeted before. You receive a tip off that you are on the hit list of radical insurgents who are now mobilising. There's no time for goodbyes. You wake your children, gather your valuables and flee under the cover of night.

You make your way to a man you've been told will get your family to safety. Giving everything you have, you embark on an uncertain journey to an unknown destination. There's no guarantee your lives will be saved or free from harm.

This is just one of the stories common to over 100 million men, women and children around the world who have been displaced by conflict, disaster or persecution.

The numbers are so large. It's easy for each story, the human face of every one of these people, to get lost in the statistics. How can we make a difference when the challenge is so large? The answer is that anything we can do as a nation and as local communities can make all the difference for these people who now make up one per cent of the world's population.

Please assist Vinnies as they help these families to find their feet and start a new life in Sydney.