Humbled and excited to win 2021 Australian Migration and Settlement Award

MEDIA RELEASE: BCHS wins 2021 Australian Migration and Settlement Award. Click here 

We are truly humbled but very excited to win the SETS Settlement Innovation category of the 2021 Australian Migration and Settlement Awards tonight. 

Our aim in launching the Coronavirus Refugee Resource Hub back in March was to make sure our communities had access to simple and clear messaging that would allow them to understand the Coronavirus situation and keep safe. 

The more we consulted with the community as the months rolled on the more we learned about real needs and made sure we addressed those with initiatives such as the free Coronavirus Telephone Hotline to answer the many questions directly. 

We also worked with partners who experienced outbreaks to ensure staff understood close contact and quarantine needs and then valued partners like Bendigo Health to make the testing process easier. 

It's encouraging to hear our resources made a difference for communities not just in Greater Bendigo but in areas further afield such as the Wimmera in Victoria and even around the world as families shared them with concerned friends and loved ones.

We are also proud of a campaign to address Coronavirus-related racism concerns by teaming up with Victoria Police and Believe in Bendigo to make a video raising awareness on the need to report such behaviour and encouraging the community to call out these incidents. 

The commitment and growth of our Settlement Services staff during this period has been inspiring and this is wonderful recognition for their work. 

A big shout out to our very own Zahir who was a finalist in the Case Worker of the Year category tonight for his wonderful work with the Afghan community. 

Thank you to the Migration Council of Australia for recognising the great work being done by organisations across Australia. 

We truly hope everyone in the sector never forgets the value of this wonderful work. It's life changing. 

To see our award-winning Coronavirus Refugee Resource Hub use this link: https://bit.ly/CoronavirusRefugees