Long after the rest of the country has either moved on entirely, or working hard to continue to turn a blind eye, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Footscray, Melbourne is still punching well above its weight (and its budget) for some of the world’s most marginalised people.
Founded almost a quarter of a century ago by former university lecturer and lawyer Kon Karapanagiotidis, the ASRC began as a small food bank for refugees living in Victoria.
Today, it has a national footprint and provides aid, justice and empowerment programs to over 1,000 asylum seekers living in the community seeking refugee protection.
Run by a team of over 1,000 volunteers and around 100 paid staff, it’s still headed by Karapanagiotidis to this day… and it’s still doing the hardest of all yards to undo the damage wrought by one of the most shameful (and enduring) chapters in Australian history.
