Through our Opening Doors program, CARAD provides personalised assistance in education, literacy, English language training and employment coaching. The one-on-one, trauma-informed support helps refugees and people seeking asylum navigate life in Western Australia.
Our clients face significant barriers including educational gaps from displacement, unrecognised foreign qualifications, unfamiliar employment systems, limited English proficiency and social isolation due to language and cultural differences - challenges intensified by trauma, discrimination and lack of support networks. Since 2015, the Opening Doors Program has helped build foundational skills and confidence to break cycles of disadvantage.
The Opening Doors Coordinator, Indra Croasdale, shares some insights about CARAD’s largest growing program.
1. What does a typical journey look like for someone who comes through the Opening Doors Program?
A typical journey begins with understanding the person’s immediate needs — educational gaps, employment barriers, and social isolation, as well as recognising their strengths and understanding what has worked well in the past. We then match them with committed volunteers who provide mentorship and advocacy.
From there, we provide support, continuously exploring the best available options that meet clients where they are at. Clients' needs commonly change, so does the support offered. We have the most amazing volunteers who meet weekly with the client and together work on agreed goals. It is a process that requires creativity, open-mindedness, but more than anything - kindness.
We provide homework and education support, employability preparation — resume development, interview skills, and explore pathways into training or work. Throughout the process, we encourage social engagement to rebuild confidence and belonging. The journey is about moving from instability to independence.
2. What has been the most significant impact of the Opening Doors Program?
The most significant impact is restoring dignity and hope. Many of the people we support face systemic barriers: language challenges, learning gaps, limited recognition of qualifications, trauma, unemployment, and social isolation.
The Opening Doors program provides not just practical support, but relational support. It rebuilds confidence, reconnects people to opportunity, and creates a pathway forward. We don’t just help people to reach their goals or access services — we help them rebuild their lives.
3. What does success look like for someone who has gone through the Opening Doors Program?
It might mean securing employment, completing education, improving language skills, or confidently participating in community life. However, success is not always measured by visible change in education or employment but by consistent engagement and trust. Even when outcomes remain the same, meaningful human connection strengthens dignity, confidence and sense of belonging.
Success is when someone no longer sees themselves as a recipient of support, but as a contributor — someone who feels confident, capable, and connected.
4. Is there a client story that stands out as especially transformative?
One client's story stands out as especially transformative. An asylum seeker from Afghanistan arrived in Australia on the last boat permitted to stay and was determined to rebuild his life.
He reached out to CARAD requesting support to improve his English. He was linked with an Opening Doors volunteer who continued supporting him over several years. A couple of years later, he was offered a scholarship with Curtin University. As a result, he lost access to income support payments. He then had to work and study full-time, but never gave up, and neither did we. He completed his studies and practical training, eventually securing a role with the same firm he trained at. In that role, he successfully helped other refugees obtain permanent residency, even while he himself remained on a temporary visa. Recently, he finally gained permanent residency, and soon after, his Australian citizenship was approved.
His journey from a newly arrived asylum seeker to a practising lawyer and citizen—advocating for others in the same position he once faced—reflects extraordinary resilience and impact.
5. What’s one moment that highlighted why this work matters?
A participant once said, “After arriving in Australia, I knew my children were safe. But we had so many challenges to overcome that at times I wondered if we would ever feel settled. Your support gives me hope. For the first time since arriving, I feel my family belongs here” It reminded me that beyond employment and education, this work is about restoring hope and a sense of belonging.
6. What do you learn from the people you work with?
I learn resilience. I witness displacement, uncertainty, and loss — yet the people that I meet remain determined. Their perseverance reinforces the importance of support combined with a genuine human connection.
7. What would you like the community to understand about people seeking asylum and refugees in this program?
I would like people to understand that asylum seekers and refugees bring skills, experience, and ambition. The barriers they face are systemic, and it has nothing to do with lack of motivation or ability. With the right support and opportunity, they contribute meaningfully to society.
I would like us all to remind ourselves that we all just people, trying to do our best to protect our loved ones and live life with dignity.
8. What are the biggest needs you’re seeing right now?
The biggest needs are access to sustainable employment, learning support for people who have limited prior formal learning, and social connectivity. There is also an increasing need for trauma-informed support and consistent mentorship.
9. How can the community better support the Opening Doors Program and the people it serves?
The community can support by volunteering time, offering work placements, recognising international experience, and creating inclusive spaces. Advocacy makes a huge difference — challenging misconceptions and promoting understanding can significantly reduce social barriers.
10. What’s the most rewarding part of coordinating this program?
The most rewarding part is getting to know our amazing clients, being part of their journey and witnessing transformation — seeing someone arrive feeling uncertain and leave feeling empowered. Watching confidence grow, networks expand, and opportunities open up makes the work deeply meaningful.
