In August (after a two-month delay) the federal government will cut the income support of up to 7000 asylum seekers living in the community in Australia, who are waiting on a decision about their claim for protection. “Lives are at risk and we’re unable to deal with the demand,” says Dr Tram Nguyen, the hub’s director of mental health services. "We’re going to see an increased risk of self harm and suicidality - we saw that in Nauru and Manus as policies become harsher." The status resolution support services (SRSS) payment provides a living allowance – usually 89 per cent of Newstart allowance - or $247 per week – as well as casework support, assistance in finding housing and access to torture and trauma counselling. The government's rationale is that work rights have been restored to almost all asylum-seekers on bridging visas, and many of those who have been receiving SRSS payments are “job-ready” and obliged to work. But Cabrini and other refugee support agencies say their patients often have complex, chronic mental health issues and have been deskilled during years spent in limbo.

“Being ‘job ready’ is not the same thing as having the skills to be able to find employment,” says the hub's manager Tracey Cabrie. “Being given access to work does not mean someone is work ready: they might not have language, and they may be living in destitution or homeless. They’re being set up to fail.” Although the cuts are a fortnight away, staff at the hub have already noticed a marked increase in demand for their services from asylum seekers who are highly anxious. Wait times for psychiatric appointments at the hub have gone from weeks to months, hence the call for pro bono help. Since it opened in 2016, the hub has seen more than 420 patients, and treats about 280 on an ongoing basis. They have significant health needs around issues like chronic pain and homelessness. Dr Nguyen estimates that over 50 per cent have severe mental health disorders which mean they aren’t capable of working. Two-thirds of the patients, including those waiting for the outcome of appeals in the Federal Court, have no income. And more than half do not have medicare access. They rely entirely on food donations from local services.

And so they wait, and wait. And – because humans are wired to need some certainty – their mental health disintegrates, says Ms Cabrie. Asylum seeker Muhammad has been waiting for seven years for his claim to be decided, first by the federal government – which rejected it – and now on appeal in the Federal Court. Muhammad has no income and came to the Cabrini hub when he developed pneumonia and wasn’t able to buy medication. “When my health got bad it was too much stress,” he says. He lives in a room in Baptcare accommodation in Brunswick alongside about 30 other asylum seekers from all over the world. To try and lift his spirits he goes each day to the local Brunswick Baths on a donated membership. The gym program and a summer gardening program are two non-medical support initiatives the hub offers to asylum seekers.