The Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women's Coalition's 'Friendship Cafe' offers community support to refugee and migrant women in the form of weekly gatherings and classes.
Project worker Weda Mohseni herself is a refugee from Afghanistan. She arrived in Australia 20 years ago, and now she's teaching citizenship and English classes for women at the cafe.
"It's good place I think for them, when they talk with each other and share experience and what happened to them, then they know that they're not the only one."
The program helps women who've left their homes in conflict regions in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and parts of Europe. Ms Mohseni says the women often have many issues they need to overcome.
"Majority of the women who come to my group, they had a very bad life," she says.
"Most of them ha[ve] depression, and they just want someone to be there for them. So they could talk about their issues."
Afghan refugee Fatema Hussaini spent years in a Pakistani camp before coming to Australia in 2007.
She now has a son, and hopes the program will help her find work in a childcare centre.
"I learnt a lot of things, especially meet different people, different communities," she says.
"In here, we have a freedom... What we want to do, we can."
Elaine Smith is one of the project's leaders and has been involved in the program since it started three years ago.
"I have a vision for Australia, that we are all in here together and we work well when we are friends," she says.
"If somebody is isolated, then we want to attend to that. If somebody has issues and they don't know where to go, we want to attend to that."
Aid teacher Wida Tausif says she hears many stories of brutality experienced by some of these women at the hands of militant groups back home.
"I've been hearing stories from some of these families, families have been murdered brutally by these groups, just because they are Hazara Afghans."
Elaine Smith believes believes forging strong new friendships is essential to their recovery.
This year employement is her priority, so over several weeks the women will receive jobs training.
"We are also working on a program for women, migrant women, with education, skills and experience, but just who haven't been able to step into the Australian jobs scene," says Elaine.
Now employed, Weda Mohseni knows well the struggle to find work in a new country.
"They want to work, and as a second language person, they don't see that hope inside, to go for it," she said.
"I say to them that once upon a time, I was the same as you guys, but look today where I'm standing. I may not be at the top, but at least I know that there is something for me to do."
Elaine says the combination of social and practical skills training has been successful.
"We do see people get jobs, but we don't actually see them very much - the woman is here for a while, and then, she's gone! And when we meet her later, she says, 'oh yeah, I got a job'."
Another session run at the cafe is sewing, when the women are create 'Welcome Dolls' using scrap fabric to give to children in detention centres.
The program is run mainly by volunteers, and it is reliant on grants. Aide teacher Wida Tausif says it's challenging, but the rewards make it worthwhile.
"I remember first day we started this Friendship Cafe, it was hard for these parents, I had a few parents in tears... but just seeing them grow so much within a year, it's just amazing."
An extension of the 'Friendship Cafe' program is the 'Girls Friendship Club' which has been set up in collaboration with the Casey Council in Melbourne's south east.
It encourages female students to participate in physical education such as football and tennis.
It includes some of the cafe's program attendee's daughters, such as year nine student Sahar Kahn.
"This is an opportunity for us to actually take another step forward to our dreams," Sahar says.
"My mum is actually pretty proud of me being here, because I've always wanted to be in a soccer club and all but couldn't find the opportunity."
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