Lisa Button, CEO of CRSA tells SBS Kurdish that the organisation was inspired by Canada's refugee sponsorship program.
"We were inspired by Canada‘s long standing refugee sponsorship program and thought something like that could work really well in Australia as a way of expanding and improving refugee settlement here".
A government-backed Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) was launched in mid 2022. The aim of this program is about involving everyday Australians in assisting newly arrived refugees.
"Any group of five or more adult Australians that have permanent residency can come together as a group and put their hands up and say we would like to welcome and support the resettlement of refugee households from overseas directly into our community.
we as an Organisation provide that group with some training and support, so they are prepared to play that role. We then match them up with a refugee household who will be receiving a Visa from the Department of Home Affairs who is waiting resettlement overseas", Ms Button said.
