Settlement agency AMES Australia is having a significant impact in supporting newly arrived migrants and refugees and their communities according to a new report.
The organisation’s Social Impact Report 2023 charts around 4,500 positive settlement outcomes with 1600 families placed in appropriate long-term housing and thousands of refugees supported to access healthcare, the social support system and public transport.
These clients were also supported to achieve financial literacy and gain knowledge of local laws and rights. More than 1400 children were also enrolled in school.
AMES Australia also positively impacted the lives of 60,000 people in 2023 through its management of the Melbourne Multicultural Hub, which provides a central place for the city’s diverse and other communities to meet, interact and collaborate in a safe and respectful environment.
The report records almost 5,700 enrolments in accredited and non-accredited courses and more than a thousand SEE students achieving measurable improvements in language, literacy and numeracy skills. Seventy-eight per cent of students expressed satisfaction with their AMES courses.
More than 200,000 unique sessions of AMEP online were accessed, 16,500 hours of AMEP online were delivered to external audiences and 3,169 adults were referred to the AMEP.
Almost 600 young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds were engaged in youth specific activities.
AMES Australia also achieved significant outcomes in getting clients into jobs, the report reveals.
Almost 3,200 long-term unemployed people were supported into work, including 2,048 from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and 606 First Nations people.
Almost 2000 jobseekers transitioning from previous employment were supported into new jobs, 536 of them refugees and 250 of them women with a disability.
Other highlights include: 255 laptops donated from corporate partners were provided to clients enabling them to navigate online services; 43 newly arrived women attended a Women’s Retreat to support social connections; 24 refugees and migrants participated in swimming and water safety programs’ 30 refugee women referred to breast cancer screening for the first time, and; 22 requests met from vulnerable clients to the People in Need Fund.
The report, prepared by AMES’ Research and Policy team, also captures 68,847 direct care hours delivered to clients through disability service Kare ONE as well as 151 clients assisted through NDIS support coordination.
AMES was supported by around 350 volunteers, including professional mentors from corporate and industry partners.
The organisation also facilitated the participation of 197 people from diverse backgrounds at 13 community consultations, as part of its mission to empower diverse communities to voice their concerns and opinions.
AMES CEO Cath Scarth said the report “advanced the message that listening to, and collaborating with, our clients and communities is key to ensuring that AMES continues to make a positive impact”.
“Our approach to meeting client needs is focused on emphasising their strengths and skills, and to find creative ways to empower and enable our clients to develop their assets and take an active role in their own settlement,” Ms Scarth said.
