Photo: Alex Ellinghausen, Canberra Times

Kathy has been the director of Companion House for the last fifteen years.

Companion House is a community-based NGO, part of a country-wide network of organisations working for survivors of torture and trauma. Services (which are free) continue to expand, from medical and counselling care to children’s early intervention counselling, community development, transitional housing and migration advice.

Companion House was established in the late 1980s by activists from Amnesty International. South American refugees were the first wave of clients. The organisation is largely government funded, though donations of private money have gone up in the last 5 years. Over the past year and a half, Companion House has seen about 1200 people across all programs. Continue reading →