You can get involved with providing direct support to asylum seekers in several different ways:
Support asylum seekers living in the Darwin community
Our advocacy team assists people seeking asylum and refugees in Darwin to integrate into the community. This includes support for people making visa applications and help to access legal advice, housing, employment, education and health care.
DASSAN coordinates donations of furniture and household goods for asylum seekers through the A Place to Call Home Facebook page.
Visit someone in detention
There are no longer any asylum seekers in detention in Darwin. If you live interstate, there are a number of organisations across Australia that support people to visit people in immigration detention. Visiting people in detention is incredibly rewarding, and often provides a lifeline and a glimmer of hope for those receiving the visits. Please be aware that visiting is also a heavy responsibility as people are very vulnerable – make sure you get support to understand how best to be helpful.
If you are interstate, below are some organisations who may be able to help you get started.
Queensland
Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) – email rac.qld.events@gmail.com
Western Australia
Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees (CARAD) –
website http://www.carad.org.au/contacts.html
Refugee Rights Action Network (RRAN) – website http://rran.org/
New South Wales
Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) – website http://www.refugeeaction.org.au
Supporting Asylum Seekers Sydney (SASS) – website https://sydneyasylumseekersupporters.wordpress.com/
Victoria
Kindred Kindness – website http://www.kindredkindness.org/
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) – website https://www.asrc.org.au/
“please tell all the people who visit someone how much importance this is. When i knew someone was coming every week and we could talk about anything, or just sit together, and i could be with someone from outside, it made my long days more bearable. You do not know how much it means to us”
Write a letter
As there are no longer any asylum seekers in detention in Darwin we suggest you make contact with asylum seekers and refugees in Nauru and Manus Island. There are Facebook pages where you can send messages of support – for example Free the Children Nauru.