Volunteers celebrated for National Volunteer Week

Ms Nourouzi, who is part of the Hazara community, is a volunteer with the Women's Friendship Group which helps migrant and refugee women settle into a new country.

Like other women from refugee backgrounds, she also lacked a support network to help her adjust to a new life.

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On Monday, Ms Nourouzi and around 160 other volunteers from various organisations were celebrated for their contributions with a special Council event to mark National Volunteer Week.

Christine Walker, another volunteer with the Women's Friendship Group said that the group was formed to help migrant and refugee women to learn "How to do Launceston."

They provide newly arrived women with information and assistance relating to healthcare, jobs, and accessing services.

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In addition to the Hazara community, the group also works with Eritrean, Nepalese and Bhutanese communities.

It's all about helping them "to feel comfortable in our culture" and to "help them with problems they might have," Ms Walker said.

The group provides women with information about everything in the community and help them to overcome loneliness, Ms Nourouzi said.

Additionally, they help refugee women to fill out applications for visas for family members who are overseas.

"A lot of the families who live here want some of their families to be able to come because either they're still in Afghanistan where it's very dangerous or they may have fled to Iran where the situation is not good there either," Ms Walker said.

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Some of the migrants and refugees who've arrived have "suffered terribly" and experienced "terrible trauma." Ms Walker said.

"We just want to help them settle into Launceston and it's been wonderful," she said.

For her own part, she said that she's benefitted from understanding other cultures, making friends and learning "how fortunate we are here in Tasmania."

This year, National Volunteer Week will run from May 15 to 21, with a theme of 'The Change Makers'.

The event recognises the vital support that volunteers provide to their communities, while encouraging more to take up volunteering.

Another not-for-profit organisation who were at the event was Just Cats Tasmania who take in stray, feral and surrendered cats and help with desexing for owners who cannot afford it.

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Gemma Gower, Volunteer Coordinator said that they currently have 300 cats in their care and rely on volunteers to clean, feed, and spend time with the cats.

While the organisation also has paid employees, volunteers make up 70-80 per cent of its workforce, Ms Gower said,

This week they hope to thank their volunteers and let them know that they're appreciated, she said.

Deputy Mayor Matthew Garwood said that volunteers were the "lifeblood of Launceston."

Volunteers are "so well embraced by our community and are so important," he said.

"They're the ones that are there on the ground literally, volunteering their time to ensure that our communities [are] best set, best facilitated," he said.

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