The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture Inc. (also known as Foundation House) provides specialised services to advance the health, wellbeing and human rights of people from refugee backgrounds who have experienced torture and other traumatic events in their country of origin or while fleeing those countries.

Each year, we make a positive difference to the lives of more than 5,000 people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds. Our dedicated staff work across five locations in metropolitan Melbourne and seven outreach sites in partnership with community and health services in regional and rural Victoria to:

• Provide services to clients in the form of counselling, advocacy, family support, group work, psycho-education, information and complementary therapies
• Work with client communities to improve their capacity to access the services they need and to enable them to support recovery
• Offer professional and organisational development, consultancy and resources to assist health, education, employment and other community service providers, to enhance the responsiveness of their services to the needs of people of refugee backgrounds
• Work with the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments to ensure that policies and programs have proper regard to the needs of people of refugee backgrounds
• Conduct and contribute to research about the needs of people of refugee backgrounds and the best possible ways of meeting those needs

Established in Melbourne in 1987, Foundation House is non-denominational, politically neutral and non-aligned. It is constituted as a not-for-profit organisation managed by an elected Board of Management. Our work is funded by the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments, charitable organisations and donations from private individuals.

Your donation will assist us to continue:

• Training other service providers who have contact with survivors of torture and other traumatic events
• Developing resources to enhance the understanding of the needs of survivors
• Working with State and Commonwealth Governments to ensure that relevant policies are sensitive to the needs of survivors
• Contributing to research to enhance the understanding of the needs of survivors and the best possible way to meet them
• Operating a Refugee Mental Health clinic and assist clients in immigration and community detention
• Establishing partnerships with counselling services in rural and regional communities to provide torture and trauma counselling and related advocacy
• Working with schools to help build connections between young students of refugee background and both their school and community
• Working with international organisations towards the elimination of torture and trauma