OUR FOCUS
ASYLUM SEEKERS & REFUGEES
Fleeing dangers …
For some, calamities burst suddenly into their reality. For others dangers creep up incrementally. Either way, the doors behind them close and they find themselves trapped by circumstances so far beyond their control, that they are forced to flee their homes and seek asylum in safer places.
They are families, couples, singles, the elderly, children, grandparents, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunties and uncles. 'Normal' people, no different to us.
THE HOMELESS
Worlds spiralling out of control …
Homelessness does not discriminate.
Happy, successful people living ‘normal’ lives in our communities can encounter events that cause their world to disintegrate. A loved one becomes incapacitated through illness forcing their partner to become both carer and sole provider. Mortgage payments and bills become impossible to manage. Gradually the family slides on a downward trajectory, losing all power over their lives.
Homelessness can result from a combination of factors. People trying to survive on unreliable income sources are particularly vulnerable. Job loss, unexpected bills, debt snare or being unsafe in a home environment are common catalysts for an uncontrollable downhill slide .… it is unreasonable to presume that homelessness is always the result of addictions or anti-social behaviours. Homeless can affect anyone.
THE POOR
Overwhelming predicaments ...
Poverty is a complicated topic. It is no respecter of persons. In today's modern societies poverty can fall upon anyone.
Those born into poverty have a huge battle to move up and out of its snare.
Those who fall into poverty through sad or tragic events are rarely able to re-build their lives without help.
Those so overcome by the weightiness of their world that they decide to walk away from the known and into survival mode, need of the uplifting hand of friendship.
Those who become poor as they weaken or age become lost, lonely and battle alone. They need champions to walk along side them.
Poverty takes many forms.
THE ENSLAVED
Psychological chains and snares …
Slavery is illegal in every country on earth yet it is as prevalent in Australia, and other western nations, as it is elsewhere in the world. Modern slave traders earn more, each year, than Nike, Google and Starbucks combined.
Bonded labor is a term we rarely hear. It is also known as debt bondage.
Victims trapped into bonded labour may have needed cash for an emergency, or, perhaps their dreams/ambitions were exploited by traffickers through job offers that included travel and expenses paid in advance. Some may have been abducted.
Bonded labour flourishes were there is poverty. It takes advantage of vulnerability. It often involves threats of violence. People can be trafficked transnationally or within a country. Wherever it occurs victims find themselves forced to work for little or no pay and with no control over their debt or time.
Essentially their lives become completely controlled by unscrupulous employers. Attempts to change their situation can be severely dealt with.