When Janelle Wallace and the team from ROOM first signed up for Community Expo, they weren’t entirely sure what to expect.
ROOM is a small group of local volunteers helping a refugee family settle into the Milton-Ulladulla community through the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Program (CRISP). Their role is a big one: helping a newly arrived family navigate everything from housing, schools and transport to English lessons, healthcare and, importantly, finding connection and community.
For Janelle, Expo quickly became a way to discover just how much support already existed locally.
“Last time I saw some of you was here before the Community Expo, when we didn’t even know what it was – what is this Community Expo?” Janelle recalled.
“But it paid huge dividends even before the doors opened.”
ROOM found themselves surrounded by organisations that could play a part in helping the family settle into their new community. They connected with local schools, Vinnies Welfare, Coast and Country Community Services, TAFE, Sing Express, The Entertainers, the Little Free Food Pantry and Apex, among others. The Big Picture team at Ulladulla High School also offered to become buddies for the family’s older girls.
Some were organisations ROOM already knew. Others were completely new connections. Community Expo was also an opportunity to expand attendees’ awareness of who refugees are, why they become refugees, and what their long journey to safety might look like. And those conversations have continued well beyond the day itself.
“The exposure for us at that day was fantastic,” Janelle said. “We also got some volunteers sign up from there.”
For a small volunteer group taking on an enormous task, Expo helped ROOM find people, services and organisations they could call on as they helped a new family begin building a life here.
And perhaps that’s one of the best things about Community Expo. You don’t necessarily need to know who you need to meet before you arrive. Sometimes you just need to get everyone in the same room.