Australia's Hidden Homeless - Hotham ASP Report August 2010.pdf

More than half of asylum seekers living in the community while they wait for their asylum claims to be resolved, have no access to a financial safety net. Many have no family or community support, and move constantly in and out of homelessness. There is very little government subsidized housing available to them, and as a consequence they are forced into abject poverty.

An international study to be released today (August 11. 2010) by the respected Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, proposes a model that would relieve this hidden but profound suffering, within existing structures for addressing homelessness, and in a way that places little or no pressure on existing subsidised housing stock for Australian residents.

Hotham Mission ASP's Director Ms Caz Coleman, who led the research team, said that in the UK, Sweden and Canada, whether to provide adequate medium term housing for asylum seekers was not a question.

"These countries have brought legislation into line with their obligations under the human rights treaties they have signed, and so should we," she said. "The model we are proposing after international research and national consultations, would avert needless suffering, and bring benefits to the Australian community, by laying the foundations for the integration and productivity of those whose claims are upheld, and for better outcomes for those who must return."

The Report recommends that provision of medium term housing for asylum seekers on bridging visas be funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and administered by the Victorian Department of Housing, within the Victorian Transitional Housing Management (THM) program.

Ms Coleman said the model could be implemented with limited or no additional pressure on the mainstream housing and homelessness services system. She said the model was cost-effective with a per bed price of approximately $31.30 for a single asylum seeker living alone and less than $12 per day for asylum seekers living in shared housing.

The report "Australia's Hidden Homelessness: community-based approaches to asylum seeker homelessness" will be launched by Judge Patricia Hempel against the background of highly politicised stress in Australia's capacity to house asylum seekers.

Hotham Mission ASP's Director Caz Coleman will detail the Report's calls on government, and will outline a major Hotham Mission ASP initiative - the "100 House Challenge" - a call on Victorians to provide 100 houses for asylum seekers. Hotham Mission ASP has been the main provider of housing for asylum seekers living in the community for thirteen years.

NO EXCUSE FOR CHILDREN'S SUFFERING
Melbourne: June 22, 2010 (Refugee Week)

Children who have already fled violence in their home country are now being left at the door of destitution. Australia is allowing "humanitarian appellant" children to suffer poverty at levels that may be in contravention of the International Covenant on the Rights of the Child, a study released today has found.

Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project Director, Caz Coleman, said that families who are lawfully awaiting the outcomes of appeals to the Minister for Immigration, for leave to stay in Australia on humanitarian grounds (humanitarian appellants), are being left out in the cold.

Ms Coleman said "It is morally unacceptable, and points to a failure to meet our international obligations, to knowingly leave children at the door of destitution and without any access to government help." In the first half of 2010, Hotham Mission ASP helped the families of 47 children, who had no housing or steady income, and who lacked food security.

"The neglect of these children by the current Government is unjustifiable, and it could get worse if the Coalition were elected," she said. "These children suffer severe material deprivation because their families are not eligible for the Community Assistance Scheme (CAS)". CAS provides welfare and health services to only about 400 people who are assessed as having multiple vulnerabilities. "Funding is so limited that children without housing or food security are not deemed vulnerable enough for inclusion," Ms Coleman said.

Ms Coleman said that the situation of some families had improved because they eventually found work. However, she warned "the Coalition's intention to re-introduce the 45-day rule would deny many asylum seekers and humanitarian appellants the right to work and lead to further pointless suffering".

The President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Catherine Branson QC, has joined Hotham in calling for action. "Asylum-seeking families living in the community face extreme challenges in providing for their children's most basic needs," Ms Branson said. "We need to ensure that the human rights of all children in Australia, including those in families seeking asylum, are respected. These rights include the right to an adequate standard of living and access to the highest attainable standard of health."

The Report, "The Rights of the Child: The experience of children living in the Australian community awaiting a decision from the Minister for Immigration", released today by Hotham Mission ASP, calls on the Government to:

• expand the federal Community Assistance and Support Program to include all children of humanitarian appellants, as well as their parents and caregivers;
• guarantee these children adequate, secure and affordable access to food, health care, housing, and sufficient income, to support an adequate standard of living;
• establish a national Children's Commissioner to ensure a comprehensive approach to protecting the human rights of all children within Australia's jurisdiction; and
• introduce all necessary and appropriate legislation to give effect to Australia's obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

MEDIA INFORMATION
Interviews:
For interviews with Caz Coleman, Director of the Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, and Catherine Branson QC, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, call 0411 876 226 or 03 9326 8343

Copies of the Report:
An electronic copy of the research report "The Rights of the Child: The experience of children living in the Australian community awaiting a decision from the Minister for Immigration" please click on the file name aboove right.

SUSPENSION OF PROCESSING OF ASYLUM SEEKERS FROM AFGHANISTAN AND SRI LANKA
Melbourne, Monday April 12, 2010

In a letter to supporters, Hotham Mission ASP DIrector, Caz Coleman, writes:

"Many of you will have seen the news that the Australian Government has temporarily suspended the processing of new asylum claims of people coming from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. (The full Government media release contains more information than some of the brief media reports from today. Link to the Minister for Immigration's Media Release)

Hotham Mission ASP believes this is a disappointing move given the high rate of Protection claim approvals, to date, of claimants from both of these countries. Whilst we acknowledge that the country situation is changing in both Sri Lanka and Afghanistan and would in time, be likely to result in a lower approval rate, we believe suspending the processing is an extreme measure.

In light of the announcement, we will be encouraging the Minister for Immigration to ensure that any children and families arriving on Christmas Island be a priority transfer to the mainland.

We will highlight the impacts of longer term detention on any asylum claimant, particularly children and seek to ensure that all claimant's basic needs can be met in a safe environment.

We would welcome the use of the Darwin facility to place vulnerable new arrivals and would encourage further use of the Residential Housing facility at Villawood for children and their families and the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation Centre (MITA) for unaccompanied minors."

We shall endeavor to keep you updated on any action we take or media we generate as a result of this change in policy.

THE BRIDGE TO EMPLOYMENT
Melbourne, Friday April 9, 2010

The Bridge To Employment
An article by Greg Foyster in NewMatilda.com featuring Hotham Mission ASP, and discussing the difficulties asylum seekers face in finding work. (N.B. A statistic quoted in the article "..that 80 to 90 per cent of people will get permanent residence" may refer to wider group of asylum seekers. Only around 50% of asylum seekers who arrived by plane will be successful in their application to stay in Australia (50% will go home).

HOTHAM MISSION ASP DIRECTOR APPOINTED TO MINISTERIAL COUNCIL
Melbourne, Friday November 6, 2009

Hotham Mission ASP Director, Caz Coleman, has been appointed to the Council for Immigration Services and Status Resolution (CISSR). CISSR will provide the Minister for Immigration with independent advice on the policies and programs affecting people seeking asylum or other migration outcomes in Australia.

(MEDIA RELEASE)
ASYLUM SEEKERS - INTERNATIONAL STUDY THROWS LIGHT ON HOW TO DO IT WELL
Melbourne, Friday November 6, 2009

An Australian team has just returned from research in the UK, Canada and Sweden into 'reception' programs for asylum seekers. The team found that while the Australian Government has gone some way to improving programs and rights for asylum seekers living in the community, there are bigger steps to be taken.

Hotham Mission ASP Director, Caz Coleman, who led the research team, said:
"There is no reason why Australia can't do this well!" she said. "Drawing on the best of overseas models and on positives in our own experience, we can receive people well, and facilitate their contribution to our community for as long as they are here, without being unrealistic"

The team visited housing and "wrap around" programs for asylum seekers in London, Leeds, Glasgow, Stockholm and regional areas of Sweden (including detention facilities in Masta and Flen), and Toronto in Canada. Key findings are:

• that each of these countries has legislated standards for treatment of asylum seekers that are in line with international obligations; and
• that each has a normalized program for providing reasonable housing for asylum seekers while they await the outcome of their protection application.

"That mandated local or regional authorities will provide a legislated level of services and housing is simply not questioned. It's beyond politics, and indeed local authorities like the City of Glasgow have embraced reception of asylum seekers as a positive strategy for enhancing their local economies and enriching the life of their communities."

The team's visit during October to the UK, Canada and Sweden was part of a major research project funded by the Truby and Florence Williams Strategic Impact Program at ANZ Trustee, to deliver realistic and affordable recommendations to the Australian Government in relation to the reception of asylum seekers. The team has also consulted agencies working with asylum seekers nationally and will conduct consultations with the community housing sector before reporting in March 2010.

Research team leader Caz Coleman is Director of the Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project. FOR INTERVIEWS WITH CAZ COLEMAN CALL: 03 9326 8343

WELCOME CAZ COLEMAN, PROJECT DIRECTOR
The staff and Management Committee of Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project are pleased to announce the appointment of Caz Coleman to the role of Project Director, commencing 12 December 2007.

Caz brings to the position a wealth of experience and knowledge of social justice, asylum seeker and refugee issues and has chaired the Right to Work campaign for a number of years. We are delighted to have Caz as an important member of the team to lead our agency into the future, continuing its important work with and for asylum seekers as well as further advocating for the rights of this extremely vulnerable group and showing community based care as a sustainable and justifiable alternative to immigration detention.