SPEAKERS

Parwin Miazoi (Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House))
Zabi Mazoori (Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House))

Topic

The Afghan Community Response Project (ACR) was established in August 2021 by Foundation House in response to the Taliban take-over of Afghanistan, which saw approximately 5000 people evacuated from Kabul by the Australian Government, the majority of whom arrived in Melbourne. The ACR project was led and delivered by a team of mainly lived-experience practitioners from within the Afghan Community.

Two years have passed and the mental health and wellbeing of communities from Afghanistan continues to be heavily impacted by the ongoing human rights abuses perpetrated by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

This presentation will provide an overview of the presenting challenges and psycho-social needs of newly arrived Afghans as well as exploring the innovations and strengths of the ACR model, which is a model that can be adapted and used by other communities arriving in Australia after a crisis.

This presentation will also offer reflections and learnings on the nuances and complexities that emerge for a team of mainly lived-experience practitioners working with their own community.

About the speakers

Parwin Miazoi

Parwin is a Team Leader at the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House). Parwin holds a Master of Social Work, Graduate Certificate in Developmental Psychiatry and a Bachelor of Arts. She has practiced as a trauma counsellor for 9 years and has extensive experience in the assessment and treatment of torture and trauma survivors including asylum seekers and refugees of all ages.

Zabi Mazoori

Zabi is the Team Leader of the Afghan Community Engagement Team at Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House). Zabi is the president of United Cultural Support Inc. and Victorian Afghan Football Association. He is also a committee member of the Victorian Afghan Associations Network and has worked extensively with refugees and asylum seekers in Australia both in a professional and volunteer capacity.

Zabi is a human rights defender who has worked with renowned international human rights organisations in promoting human rights and justice around the world. For many years, Zabi worked for Physicians for Human Rights, specialising in the forensic documentation of war crimes and serious human rights violations, including the exhumation of mass graves. 

Since the Taliban take over of Afghanistan in August 2021, Zabi and Parwin have collaboratively led the Afghan Community Response Project at Foundation House, which is a program that responds to the mental health and advocacy needs of newly arrived Afghan evacuees and the existing Afghan Community.

Eligibility

VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.  

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