Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Ms HALL (Footscray) (10:04): From little things big things grow, and this Refugee Week I want to pay tribute to my neighbours in Nicholson Street, Footscray, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, which has been a beacon of hope for people in our community for 21 years. The ASRC was founded in 2001 by Kon Karapanagiotidis, who was the welfare lecturer at Victoria University of Technology. It started as a small food bank in Footscray, opposite to its current location on Nicholson Street, and from being a food bank they added English lessons. Then came the legal support, then came the primary health services, then came the employment program, casework support and counselling.
Footscray has always been a place that lifts people up, and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre is an absolute example of the kinds of support we offer to refugee and asylum seeker Victorians in Footscray. I am very proud to have the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Footscray. I am very proud of all of the volunteers who make that place tick and all of the hard work they do every day. The ASRC is pure humanity. Thank you for everything you do every day.