Working in mental health on the front line, seeing people in their worst moments and doing all that I could to try and be someone they could trust to be there and let them feel seen and heard has been challenging and rewarding. What I learnt overtime, when I would be speaking to mob is that I was often the first Aboriginal person that they had engaged with in this way for their mental health. Connection is truly at the core of our identities, feeling understood and seen is invaluable. When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are overrepresented across the health spectrum and are far more likely to have experienced or been touched by trauma, why is it the most culturally safe and informed thing to do to have an experienced team of clinicians in every state supporting and contributing to the wellbeing and mental health of mob.
We have Aboriginal Liaison officers in our mainstream services, however mainstream services do not see the value in having an Aboriginal and/ or Torres Strait Islander person as the person delivering the culturally appropriate clinical care.
We understand each other, on a level that is hard for any non-indigenous person to comprehend. We work differently, we engage differently, and we even speak differently.
We have come to a point where we still do not have a choice of seeking a culturally safe alternative to mainstream services and so many as evident in my charitable work and community engagement are seeking the same Blak face sitting across of them, yarning, sharing and working with them on their challenges.
We as a people, have so much capacity, we have survived for so long and we continue to survive. We need to see ourselves in the services we are attending for change to happen.