Arabic Welfare Incorporated
Arabic Welfare Incorporated (AW Inc) is a nonpolitical, nonsectarian ethnospecific welfare organisation dedicated to serving the welfare needs of people from Arabic Speaking (AS) backgrounds in Victoria. AW workers provide information and refer clients to services relating to health, education, employment, financial, recreation and family support. they also support and advocate on behalf of the Arabic community to assist their establishment within Australian society. AW’s lengthy experience as a settlement service provider spans over 3.5 decades and has afforded our organisation the opportunity to apply wellrefined systems, policies, procedures and practices which optimise our capacity to implement appropriate processes of selfcare for project workers and community participants across a range of our projects which implement intervention strategies. In addition, we provide intensive case management and counselling services to families and individuals of diverse AS backgrounds. With a focus on early intervention & prevention, our workers address issues relating to families in crisis, gambling, mental health, parenting and youth. Through one to one or group sessions and in collaboration with other service providers, our programs aim to support, educate and empower clients to reach their desired outcomes. Through our experience in refugee settlement work we have an indepth understanding of the multiple issues and factors that affect the lives of migrants and refugees as they commence their new journey and new life in a new country. Their prearrival experiences are often those of persecution, trauma, violence, war and separation from family. Their departure from their homeland is not one of choice and is one characterised by lengthy stays in other countries, in which they experience financial hardship and poor safety. Their settlement in Australia brings with it complexities and multiple issues that can significantly affect their capacity to engage and participate in their new life. Although AW has been providing casework, counselling & community development work to AS refugees & migrants, we ensure that community groups not only receive early prevention education in their early settlement stage, but also work with the culturally powerful language of stigma to ensure that helpseeking behaviours are strengthened by implementing a range of prevention activities, as part of a multipronged approach, and work within family focused and trauma informed frameworks. AW has been working with the AS community for over thirtyeight years. The AS community in Melbourne is a diverse community and comprises of people from a multitude of national, ethnic, religious and cultural communities across the globe. A major strength of the work undertaken by AW derives from their continued commitment to a communitybased focus, thereby responding to communitybased needs.