'Just to know them boys were on the flight with Joe and he wasn't alone meant the world.' The volunteers watching over young Irish expats in Australia

"In a province the size of western Europe, a non-profit organisation helps emigrants in crisis"

"Nathan Slane remembers standing helplessly across the road from a building site in Western Australia's capital city Perth nearly 10 years ago."

"Blinded by the flashing lights of the ambulances, the then 24-year-old from Omagh, Co Tyrone, recalls being jostled by a gathering crowd as word spread that two labourers had been killed in a freak accident."

A non-profit organisation provides crisis support to emigrants in a province comparable in size to western Europe. Nathan Slane remembers standing helplessly across the road from a building site in Perth nearly ten years ago. He was then 24 and from Omagh, Co Tyrone. He was blinded by the flashing lights of ambulances and jostled by a gathering crowd as news spread that two labourers had been killed in a freak accident. The incident underscores sudden emergencies confronting emigrant communities and the importance of dedicated support services.

Read at Independent