Connecting with People from Refugee Backgrounds
New Settlers Family and Community Trust (NFACT) provides flexible, culturally and linguistically appropriate services for refugees and people from refugee-like backgrounds, such as asylum-seekers, convention refugees, and people under the family reunification category or those with particular emergency visas.
This includes, as much as possible, services 'by former refugees for former refugees'.
When coming to a new country, refugees and people from refugee-like backgrounds face many challenges, including language, employment, social normality, education and economic issues, as well as the normal stressors of everyday life. Refugees have left behind areas of conflict and war, but the impact of those experiences continues to affect individuals, and the challenges of settlement can amplify any post-traumatic symptoms.
Adjusting to a new society is an intricate and difficult process for all new settlers and often results in changing dynamics for both individuals and family structures. Major fractures within family relationships can happen when people adapt differently to such adjustments. When left unaddressed these complex and interwoven dynamics can negatively impact mental and emotional well-being sometimes for decades.
Our Vision
To help new settlers and their families thrive within their communities and wider society through a range of targeted community-based services and initiatives.
Our Mission
To support new settlers to New Zealand, especially those from refugee and refugee-like backgrounds, by providing culturally appropriate services so they are able to manage their own well-being and overcome the social and mental barriers to resettlement, with an emphasis on providing services for former refugees by former refugees.
What We Wish to Achieve
NFACT aims to enhance people’s mental wellbeing so that they are able to cope with the challenges of their life within their own family, and to become actively contributing members of their, and New Zealand’s wider community.
NFACT will empower people to become active participants in their community and advocate for change in their lives and on behalf of their community. We want to enable a sense of belonging and connectedness amongst people with refugee and refugee-like backgrounds and the wider community. We will ensure community members are supported to actively participate in all levels of the organisation and service delivery.
NFACT will deliver services and programmes that are of a high standard. We will follow good practice principles in all elements of our practice and will ensure we work in partnership with others to be effective. We will improve our practice through a process of continuous learning.
Our Supporters
