Welcome to our new online directory – ‘The Isla Network’ – where anyone in Australia can share offers of support for refugee newcomers and local groups participating in the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP).
CRSA receive many offers of support from the Australian public, whether it be refurbished laptops, accommodation or local driving lessons, and have been looking for the best way to share these items and opportunities with our network. This is where The Isla Network comes in.
View current listings or post what you have on offer below. You will be able to search donated goods, housing, job and mentoring opportunities, local services and anything else that might help an arriving refugee household or CSG.
Please note to view listing details you will need pop-ups enabled. For further details and instructions please see page 2 of the ‘The Isla Network User Guide’ linked below.
Check out The Isla Network User Guide for more information about using the network including terms and conditions, listing types and how to search and filter what’s on offer.
Why ‘The Isla Network’?
The network is named after Isla Patterson, the late daughter of Maggie and Daryl Patterson from Goulburn NSW who led one of CRSA’s formative community supporter groups in the CRISP.
Isla, still in her teenage years, passed away unexpectedly after falling sick while on a family holiday in the UK. Maggie and Darryl were touched by the outpouring of community support they received from total strangers during this difficult time away from home. Much of the couple’s own strength comes from Isla who, even at such a young age, showed immense courage and resolve in her final moments. Maggie and Daryl shared that, just days before her passing, Isla had said to them that “If just one person will be blessed through my story, then my struggle has been worth it.” When they happened upon the CRISP, Maggie and Daryl saw the program as their opportunity to pay the generosity they’d received forward.
It’s a story that encapsulates so much of what the CRISP is about – community stepping up to help when someone is in need.