Under the Radar
Settlement Grants Program
Multicultural Youth Development Fund
Multicultural Young Women's Leadership
Multicultural Youth Services Program
Multicultural Youth Employment Project
Community Settlement Services Scheme
Multi Voices
Party Safe
M.Y. Culture
Action Research / Cafe MYSA
Young Women's Wellbeing
Youth Gangs in Australia
Mental Health Research
Life's Breath
Outreach Program for Young Surfers
Here are some of the projects that MYSA is currently working on.
“A research and intervention program for multicultural youth living on the margins”
Purpose
The purpose of the project is to investigate, identify and respond to the key issues and needs impacting on the lives of at risk young people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. A combination of research and targeted programs will be delivered to increase support to CALD young people, the sector and the broader community.
Aims of the project include:
- Provide an evidence-based approach to service delivery for at risk CALD young people
- Increase awareness of CALD youth issues among service providers and the broader community
- Reduce social isolation and disengagement among the most disadvantaged CALD youth in South Australia
- Increase knowledge, skills, confidence and willingness of CALD youth to take control of their lives, and
- Improve relationships with mainstream services, particularly law enforcement.
This is a three year project that will include the following key areas:
- Research
- Workshops
- Recreation and adventure activities
- Mentoring and intensive support, and
- Resource Development and training
For more information regarding the project contact Carmen Garcia, Assistant Director on carmen@mysa.com.au
Under the Radar is funded by the Scanlon Foundation and auspiced by the Australian Multicultural Foundation
The Settlement Grants Programme (SGP) is funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. MYSA provides settlement support to young people aged between 15-25 years that need support to live in South Australia. This program aims to help individuals as well as groups of multicultural young people through a variety of different services including information provision, referrals, linkages to support networks and mainstream agencies.
Eligibility Criteria for Settlement Services:
Clients must be:
- Between 12-25 years old
- Arrived in Australia less than 5 years ago
- Arrived under a Humanitarian entrant, family stream (with low English) or refugee visa
*If you fall outside the criteria, MYSA can still help you - see Multicultural Youth Services Program
MYSA’s services include:
- Individual casework and referrals
- Information provision
- Life skills programs; and
- General advice and support
Casework and referrals
MYSA offers direct service delivery to young migrants and refugees, through case work and referral. We assist and support migrant and refugee young people to manage their affairs, including resume-writing and budgeting. We also assist them to access mainstream service providers in areas such as health, employment, housing, legal issues, social services and many others.
Group Programs
MYSA helps young people access group programs that include information sessions and life skills workshops. MYSA run information sessions and life skills workshops in a fun and interactive way, with topics such as:
- What is a service (orientation to the services structure in Australia)
- Basic rights and responsibilities
- Australian Youth Culture (cultural norms and systems)
- The Law and you
- Health (sexual health, hygiene, nutrition and more)
- and many more...
Apart from the provision of information, referral and casework services, MYSA is also involved with community capacity building, and service planning, development and integration. This includes:
- Support and empower migrant and refugee young people by providing opportunities where they can present their views openly without prejudice or discrimination
- Promote and facilitate forums to link community members and leaders to mainstream service providers
- Provide initial support, mentoring, consultancy and advocacy services to community groups to increase their ability to advocate on behalf of their communities
- Provide industry help to mainstream agencies to support them to work with newly arrived young people
Further Information
Contact Miss Maylin Superio
Tel: (08) 8212 0085
Email: maylin@mysa.com.au
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The South Australian Multicultural Youth Development Fund is funded by the Department for Families Communities and administered by MYSA to give youth and community groups an opportunity to run projects for multicultural young people from new and emerging communities.
Aims of this fund are to:
- Empower and support newly arrived youth and community groups through training, individual support and mentoring to develop and manage their own projects and initiatives.
- Equip newly arrived youth and community groups with the knowledge and skills to apply for funding through other grants schemes.
- Encourage and support partnerships between newly arrived youth and community groups and mainstream service providers.
This funding is for community groups to access one-off funding for youth development and youth capacity building projects.
Successful applicants will also receive project support including free project management training including budgeting, risk management and developing project plans. This is aimed to help groups develop stronger skills to apply for future funding through other grants schemes.
The grants are available for up to $7,000.00 each.
Successful groups funded in round three during 2008/2009 include:
African Communities Council of SA Inc
Muslim Girls Kollective SA
Nile United Group
SRC Activities Group
Sudanese Stars of South Australia
SIMBA of Congo
African Communities Council of SA Inc. will be training up to
120 youth from 27 differing member groups within the African community to receive intensive leadership and events management skills. The aim of the project is to develop the individual skills capacity of youth members to proactively respond to and support various sporting and social community initiatives.
Muslim Girls Kollective SA are tailoring interactive workshops
in education, employment, relationships, identity and successful self strategies as a means to address the lack of awareness of opportunities available to Muslim young women. The project aims to support a fusion of both Australian culture and the many and varying Muslim faith cultures and provide an opportunity for young Muslim women to meet and share social experiences through activities that otherwise would not be accessible to them.
Nile United Group is delivering core life-skills workshops to
increase independent living skills, increase nutritional health via cooking programs and foster creativity through music, drama and sporting endeavours. The overall aim of the program is to increase understanding and respect between cultures and generations within the Sudanese community, as well as encouraging responsible citizenship.
SRC Activities Group will be designing and building a Peace
Garden which will enable students to share aspects of their culture through the medium of art. In addition to the artistic component, students will also receive information on Australian values and culture, financial planning, legal awareness and anti-harassment/bullying strategies. The program aims to promote multiculturalism and harmonise relationships between students from diverse cultures.
Sudanese Stars of South Australia will be using the medium of
soccer to promote sporting and social opportunities for aspiring soccer players. The Stars will also be receiving information on career guidance and positive life skills and seek motivational speakers from Adelaide United to encourage personal goal attainment. The newly created team also plans to celebrate their programs success at an end of year presentation. The program aims to reduce social isolation, provide opportunities for personal development and enhance social cohesion within the community and wider society.
SIMBA of Congo youth members will receive educational
information to enhance their health practices, gain knowledge on the Australian legal system and gain coaching, mentoring and team management training. Additional practical sporting skills will also be fostered during the weekly netball and volleyball competitions for women and the weekly soccer competitions for men. The program provides an opportunity for youth to gain health and legal knowledge and proactively address youth isolation by providing alternative sporting activities.
Key Dates
- Round 3 closed on June 8th. Round 4 opens May 2009. Grant Guidelines and Application forms can be downloaded below.
Forms and Downloads
For a word document version of the application form please contact the Grants Officer on the details below.
- Funding Guidelines (pdf)
- Application Form (pdf)
For more information contact the Project Officer:
Ms Nicolette Fluris
Tel: (08) 8212 0085
Email: Nicolette@mysa.com.au
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The Multicultural Young Women’s Leadership Program is designed to deliver a tailored and flexible approach to support and assist multicultural young women in developing their leadership potential and enabling sustainable future pathways. The program is targeted at young religiously diverse multicultural women aged between 14 and 30 years who have succeeded in achieving their immediate settlement needs and are seeking to further participate within society.
Aims of the program include:
- Increasing personal resilience
- Skill training and future pathways development
- Provision of individualised support
- Enabling role modelling opportunities
- Building capacity and awareness of key services and support networks
- Increasing knowledge of multiculturalism and re-inforcing social cohesion within mainstream society
- Assisting communities to participate effectively in the broader Australian society
Participants will aslo conceptualise, plan, deliver and evalute an event at MYSA’s upcoming Multicultural Music and Culture Festival to be held on March 16th 2008 to showcase their culture and learnings with the aim to engage with the wider community to increase their awareness of positive contributions made by culturally and religiously diverse young women.
To refer young women to this program please contact
Ms Nicolette Fluris
Tel: (08) 8212 0085
Email: Nicolette@mysa.com.au
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Here are some of the ongoing projects that MYSA coordinates.
The Multicultural Youth Services Program is funded by the Department for Families Communities to improve service provision and access to services by refugee and migrant young people living in the northern metropolitan region, with a specific focus on young people from new and emerging communities and Cambodian young people at risk. (Northern metropolitan area includes the local councils on Salisbury, Port Adelaide Enfield and Playford.)
Aims of this program are:
- To increase young refugee and migrant’s awareness of local youth services in the north by providing youth specific and culturally appropriate workshops and information sessions and providing casework and referral services.
- To facilitate family events and youth recreation and skill development opportunities in the north in partnership with local services.
- To focus on early intervention by conducting outreach into schools, including workshops on life skills, orientation to the service sector and cultural awareness to tackle racism and discrimination.
- To build on existing services and infrastructure by utilising existing service locations to deliver services in the north
- To provide advice, support and training to existing northern services
Contact the Project Officer
Elmina Joldic
Tel: (08) 8212 0085
Email: elmina@mysa.com.au
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Here are some of the previous projects designed and implemented for CALD young people.
Our
Multicultural Youth Employment Project was funded by the Department of
Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology (DFEEST) for 12
months and targeted young CALD jobseekers aged between 15 and 24 years
who were experiencing barriers to effective participation in the labour
market. The project developed and implemented pathways to employment,
with young people receiving intensive assistance with writing resumes
and job applications, preparing for interviews and accessing
appropriate employment and training. Many young people found work in a
range of areas in various sectors.
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We
are currently receiving funding from the Department of Immigration and
Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) to provide culturally
appropriate information and support services to newly arrived CALD
young people facing considerable barriers to settlement. The project
creates pathways and links to mainstream services that can assist CALD
young people with their immediate needs including income support,
employment, education and training, health, English literacy,
accommodation, social and personal development and recreation.
Young
people are assisted through information workshops, training, group
work, outreach services, short term case management, social and
recreational activities and service orientation expos.
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We are currently receiving funding from the State Government under the
Social Inclusion Initiative to train and equip young people from CALD
backgrounds in leadership and project management skills so they can
participate at all levels of decision making in the community. Multi
Voices provides young people with opportunities to participate in
community management committees, multicultural and mainstream
organisations and government reviews. A core group of young people is
also being established to mentor their peers in leadership and
management roles.
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The
first phase of our Party Safe project consisted of a health promotion
campaign designed to raise awareness of partying risks among CALD young
people. The project was funded by the Office for Youth and was overseen
by a Steering Committee comprising representatives of MYSA, Drug and
Alcohol Services Council (DASC), SA Police and Yarrow Place.
Students
on placement initiated consultations with groups of CALD young people,
including a very successful session at Adelaide TAFE where participants
enjoyed a Halal BBQ. Following the consultations, a Reference Group
comprising young people from predominantly Serbian, Sudanese, Asian,
Latino, Afghan and Iraqi backgrounds was formed to discuss and
prioritise the issues raised and explore strategies and approaches to
reaching CALD young people.
Drink
driving, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual assault and racism were
identified by young people as the major issues needing to be addressed.
A separate concept was developed to address each issue:
- Key rings with short messages and contact information for drink driving;
- Posters for club and pub restrooms for sexual assault;
- Brochures with visual and factual information for drug and alcohol abuse;
- CDs promoting different cultures for racism.
Party
Safe was officially launched by our Co-Chair Carmen Garcia during Youth
Week at an event called 20:20 which showcased the talent, achievements
and commitment of a wide range of young people. The event was produced
by MYSA, Adelaide City Council and Carclew Youth Arts Centre and was
opened by the Lord Mayor, Michael Harbison. Over 100 young people were
employed as performers, stage managers and technical support staff.
Event
goers were treated to sidewalk cinema, projection art, an exhibition of
sculpture and the musical talent of the New Pollutants.
"The
best thing about our campaign was that it was initiated, developed,
managed and delivered entirely by CALD young people and hence delivered
a fantastic outcome with important messages being received and
understood about issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, sexual assault
and racism." (Carmen Garcia)
We are very
pleased to have just received separate funding from the Department of
Health and Ageing under the National Illicit Drug Strategy Community
Partnerships Initiative to continue our Party Safe work with CALD young
people.
The new project will bring
together CALD communities, ethnic organisations and mainstream
government and non-government agencies to address a range of risks
associated with youth partying, particularly the abuse of drugs and
alcohol. Strategies will include a media campaign, peer and community
education forums and information resource development and
dissemination. CALD young people will be featured in the media campaign
as leaders of change in their own communities, thereby raising their
profile and facilitating their participation and involvement in issues
affecting them.
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This project is proudly supported by the Australian Government’s Living in Harmony programme administered by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. The programme seeks to promote Australian values, especially mutual respect and acceptance, and it aims to engage the whole community and create opportunities to help people fully participate in Australian life. For more information on the Living in Harmony programme, visit www.harmony.gov.au
MYSA’s project is titled M.Y. Culture and will focus on promoting cultural awareness and positive images of newly arrived young migrants and refugees in the South Australian community.
- Multicultural Youth Awards
- Multicultural Youth Music Festival
- Speak Out2 - Multicultural Youth Forum
- Australian Culture and Norms Workshops
- Guest Appearances and Presentations from Multicultural Youth Ambassadors
- M.Y. Culture Book and DVD – a compilation the stories of multicultural young people in SA to celebrate our diversity
How you can get involved?
- Nominate an inspirational multicultural young person
- Register to perform at the Multicultural Youth Music Festival or host an information stall
- Attend the Multicultural Youth Music Festival
- Register for the Speak Out2 - Multicultural Youth Forum
- Become a volunteer
- Fill in our questionnaire on cultural awareness
Forms and Downloads
- Awards Guidelines (pdf)
- Awards Nomination Form (pdf)
- Cross-Cultural Questionnaire (pdf)
- Expression of Interest to perform (pdf)
- Register to host a stall at the Festival (pdf)
- Send us an email to register interest to volunteer, attend the Speak Out2 Forum
NB For a word document versions please contact the Miss Maylin Superio at
on the details below.
Key Dates
Multicultural Youth Awards
- Nominations open 29th January 2007
- Nominations close on 9th March 2007
Multicultural Youth Music Festival
- Sunday 25th March 2007, Light Square, Adelaide 11am to 5pm
Speak Out2 - Multicultural Youth Forum
- To be announced.
Further Information
Contact Miss Maylin Superio
Tel: (08) 8212 0085
Email: maylin@mysa.com.au
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MYSA is undertaking an action research project titled “Newly arrived young people in public space”, funded by the Adelaide City Council, with the University of South Australia, South Australian Police, The Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Department for Families and Communities members of the reference group.
The research involves inviting multicultural young people aged between 15-25 years who frequent the city to come to Café MYSA, a temporary after school snack program that runs alongside the research.
Café MYSA is opened every Friday from 4-8pm. Located at Shop 9 Millers Arcade 28 Hindley Street, Adelaide SA 5000. Come and have a free chocolate drink and a slice of cake whilst sitting in an amazing safari jungle -inspired hip hop lounge. With plenty of free entertainment, dynamic Live DJ from 5:30pm, a huge projection screen with a movie on show, as well as plenty of games to play!!! For those who want to assist MYSA with the action research, you will also go into a draw to win a 30GB IPOD!!!
Key Dates:
Café MYSA is open from Friday 12th January to 30th March 2007
Further Information
Contact Miss Maylin Superio
Tel: (08) 8212 0085
Email: maylin@mysa.com.au
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The Young Women Wellbeing project is an early intervention strategy funded by Community Benefit SA that targets young women from new and emerging communities aged between 14 and 30 years. The project uses a workshop format that consists of two parts: Part one is delivered in partnership with expert service providers and focuses on information and linkages to opportunities, pathways and services. Part two addresses self-esteem, confidence and general wellbeing through activities involving music, art or relaxation.
Aims of this project are to:
- Increase awareness and address some of the most complex issues of young women from refugee and migrant backgrounds such as education, training and employment options, budgeting, establishing healthy relationships, maintaining mental, physical and sexual health and making responsible choices with respect to drugs and alcohol.
- Link participants into existing services provided to CALD women and increase contact with and knowledge of community opportunities, resources and support
- Improve self-esteem and equip newly arrived young women with stronger social support networks and increased community participation and engagement
The workshops are delivered in a culturally appropriate manner and ensure the young women are supported with transport and childcare responsibilities.
Forms and Downloads
- Program for Series 1 (pdf)
Key Dates
- Series 1: October to December 2006
- Series 2: March to May 2007
Contact:
Ms Nicole Fasel
Tel: (08) 8212 0085
Email: Nicole@mysa.com.au
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In
addition to our own project work, we have collaborated with others on
various projects and activities to improve outcomes for CALD young
people. The following are examples of our work with other groups and
agencies:
Youth
Gangs in Australia is a national research project funded by the
Australian Research Council and headed by Professor Rob White from the
University of Tasmania. The research design and delivery involved input
from members of the OzGang Research Network which comprises individuals
from the University of Tasmania, the University of Western Sydney, the
Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues (Victoria), the Australian
Multicultural Foundation and the Australasian Police Multicultural
Advisory Bureau.
Young people aged
between 15 and 25 years who had been involved in or wanted to be
involved in a gang were interviewed in every capital city, with MYSA
administering questionnaires to young people in South Australia. The
project gave young people an opportunity to express their views and
perceptions of the law, gangs and society in general. The findings of
the study are still being processed and should be published shortly.
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We
are currently providing support and assistance to a project coordinated
by the University of Adelaide to undertake research into the mental
health needs of newly arrived refugee children and young people living
in South Australia. The mental health status of young refugees has
received scant scholarly attention despite the fact that they are at
high risk of developing mental health problems and disorders. Funding
for the project will be sought from the Australian Research Council
under the Linkage-Projects Scheme.
The
research will be the first of its kind undertaken in Australia and will
provide information on the prevalence of mental health problems
affecting refugee children and young people, the level of disability
associated with these problems and the extent to which they are
receiving appropriate help. The research will also focus on the
potentially positive effects of trauma by exploring issues of
competence and resiliency. The findings will enable policy makers and
refugee service planners to design, develop and implement more evidence
based and culturally appropriate services.
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We
have just finished working with the Migrant Health Service on a tobacco
awareness project for newly arrived migrant and refugee communities
from Africa, the Middle East and the former Yugoslavia. The project
aimed to encourage cessation and reduce the uptake of tobacco use
through a range of promotion, prevention and early intervention
strategies. We assisted with the youth component of the project which
focussed on culturally appropriate strategies and activities for CALD
young people who were smoking to cope with cultural transition,
settlement and other difficulties.
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MYSA
and Christian Surfers SA run an outreach program for young people in
the northern suburbs where high unemployment, low incomes and lack of
appropriate social/welfare supports are significant problems.
Currently
the program has regular participants aged between 10-16 years. All of
these young people come from low income families where there has been a
history of domestic violence and/or drug and alcohol abuse. Resource
constraints prevent expanding the program to accommodate more young
people.
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