AMES Community Guides Research

An evaluation of the Community Guides program of the Australian Multicultural Education Services (AMES) Victoria, by the UNSW Centre for Refugee Research, January - July 2009.

AMES Settlement and consortium partners are contracted by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) to provide settlement support to newly arrived humanitarian entrants to Australia. The Community Guides program is a key component of this work. The Community Guides program trains and employs former refugees to provide settlement assistance to newly arrived refugees from their own community and/or language group. The program provides culturally and language appropriate settlement support to new arrivals, as well as training, work experience and employment pathways for those employed as community guides.

This innovative program was initiated by AMES in 2005. In 2008, AMES contracted the Centre for Refugee Research to evaluate the program. AMES chose the reciprocal action research methodology developed by CRR,because of their commitment to full community participation in the evaluation.

This research documented and analysed the community guides settlement support model for its effectiveness and value in facilitating successful settlement and in developing capacity within refugee communities. The research will contribute to the knowledge base on innovative practice in the settlement of refugees, and inform policy and service provision to guide the process of refugee resettlement.

The research and initial reports of the program evaluation have been completed, and further work on developing training resources and finalising a DVD about the community guides program will be forthcoming. An executive summary of the main report and community guides storybook will soon be available from AMES.