1.1 National : Indigenous Marathon Project a community focussed health initiative that uses the simple act of running as a vehicle to promote the benefits of healthy and active lifestyles. #RunSweatInspire

1.2  Mayi Kuwayu TV ads going live today March 14 in a number of ACCHO health clinics around Australia

2.1 QLD : Wuchopperen ACCHO Cairns celebrated 10 years of Mums and Bubs program

2.2 QLD : Apunipima ACCHO team continues to roll out Mental Health First Aid training and Midwife workshop on Cape York

3. NT : Katherine West, Wurli-Wurlinjang and Sunrise Health Services ACCHO’s meet with 100 health professionals to enhance communication between hospitals, primary health and public health services

4.1 NSW : NSW Labor Leader, Michael Daley and Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, David Harris, have today announced Labor’s policies to better support Aboriginal communities across NSW. Press Release

4.2 NSW : ACCHO’s in Northern NSW partner with TAFE NSW to support and service qualifications that upskill the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health care workforce

5. Tas : Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre ACCHO opens new tulaminakali Health clinic in Devenport 

6. ACT : Beds at the troubled Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm are likely to lay empty for longer after the government back tracked on plans to look for a provider for a residential program by early this year.

7. WA : AHCWA  headed to Bunbury last week to deliver the Certificate II in Family Wellbeing to a group of 10 students. 

8. VIC : MDAS ACCHO : Mallee Mums find support and strength in each other

How to submit in 2019 a NACCHO Affiliate  or Members Good News Story ?

Email to Colin Cowell NACCHO Media 

Mobile 0401 331 251 

Wednesday by 4.30 pm for publication Thursday /Friday

1.1 National : Indigenous Marathon Project a community focussed health initiative that uses the simple act of running as a vehicle to promote the benefits of healthy and active lifestyles. #RunSweatInspire

“ Running a marathon is one of life’s ultimate challenges. To run a marathon from some of Australia’s most remote and harshest places is truly an amazing accomplishment.

When our runners cross the finish line of the world’s biggest marathon, in the world’s biggest city, after overcoming unimaginable challenges, they know they can achieve anything.

The lessons learnt and the pride felt are taken home and used to educate and inspire others about the importance of personal pride, healthy lifestyles, good nutrition and regular physical activity,”

Rob De Castella Indigenous Marathon Project

Picture Above EMOTIONAL: Jessica Bartholomew, Cyrus Morseu and Debra Hegarty after the New York Marathon 2018

The Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP) was founded in 2010 by former World Champion marathon runner Rob de Castella. IMP is not a sports program, but a community focussed health initiative that uses the simple act of running as a vehicle to promote the benefits of healthy and active lifestyles.

IMP annually selects, educates, trains and takes a group of inspirational young Indigenous men and women aged 18-30 to compete in the world’s biggest marathon – the New York Marathon.

Through this, IMP promotes the importance of healthy and active lifestyles throughout Indigenous communities, and creates Indigenous role models.

 ” Mr Fielding was running to raise money for The Purple House, an organisation that provides dialysis to some of Australia’s most remote communities.

Aside from the more than $40,000 raised so far, he wants to promote a healthy lifestyle to other Indigenous Australians.”

From ABC TV COVERAGE

From NACCHO May 2018

Starting at 4am in the APY Lands town of Indulkana, Zibeon Fielding has just finished a 62-kilometre ultramarathon.

The feat, which is about the same as running one and a half full marathons, comes just five weeks after Mr Fielding completed the Boston Marathon.

Port Macquarie March 2018

Port Macquarie last weekend welcomed three former Olympians Australian Olympians Nova Peris, Rob de Castella, Steve Moneghetti to support a new program for improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

“It’s so good to see because everyone knows there is an abundance of talent in communities but minimal opportunities.

Running can change people’s lives and the IMP graduates have themselves become inspirations.

It’s a beautiful thing to see with Port Macquarie getting behind it.”

Olympian Nova Peris pictured below with Charlie Maher said the Bush to Beach Project was awesome : 

WATCH VIDEO \

Additional Text and Photo Port Macquarie News

“The project enables participants to visit the partner community in recognition of their commitment, Providing the opportunity to learn and share culture, experiences and stories with one and another while working towards creating change.

This is the first year of the program and we are proud to have the young Ntaria participants visiting Port Macquarie in March for the 2019 Port Macquarie Running Festival.

“In order to make sure the program is sustainable and can make lasting change for many years ahead we are holding a fundraiser in conjunction with the Port Macquarie Running Festival. ”

Charlie Maher Ambassador

NACCHO’s Social Media editor Colin Cowell promoted the project nationally and attended the lunch on Saturday, March 9 fundraising to support the Bush to Beach Project.

1.2  Mayi Kuwayu TV ads going live today March 14 in a number of ACCHO health clinics around Australia

Mayi Kuwayu is a major new study that will provide a far greater understanding of the value of culture for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The Mayi Kuwayu Study looks at how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing is linked to things like connection to country, cultural practices, spirituality and language use.

Our research team will follow a large number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and ask about their culture and wellbeing. As a longitudinal study, we will survey people and then ask them to take the same survey every few years, so that we can understand what influences changes over time.

This is the first time a national study of this type has been done and will provide an evidence base to allow for the creation of better policies and programs.

This study has been created by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander controlled research resource.

The Mayi Kuwayu team are experienced at working closely with communities across Australia, and the study has majority Aboriginal staffing and study governance (decision making) structure.

The Mayi Kuwayu launch video can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/297654156

In exactly one month, MK Study leader Ray Lovett will be running the Boston Marathon as part of his ongoing commitment to The Indigenous Marathon Foundation, a charity led by world champion and former Olympian Rob de Castella which uses running to promote health and resilience and celebrate achievement in young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women.

We’ll keep you posted on what you can do to be part of Ray’s marathon effort! #ourculturescount #RunSweatInspire

By sharing your story, you can help create a better understanding of how culture affects health and wellbeing over time.

TAKE THE SURVEY 

2.1 QLD : Wuchopperen ACCHO Cairns celebrated 10 years of Mums and Bubs program

The Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program, First Time Mums, has been running for ten years this year at Wuchopperen Health Service Limited (Wuchopperen).

The First Time Mums Program is a client-centred, home visiting program providing care and support to mums pregnant with their first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander baby until bub turns two.

The Program aims to assist first time pregnant mums and their families to develop knowledge and skills to improve the long-term health, social and economic future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

The dedicated team of Nurse Home Visitors and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Partnership Workers have completed over 5,000 home visits to clients in the past ten years, providing a culturally safe service to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. The Family Partnership Workers help to promote trust and respect between the clients and their families, the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and local health providers.

Nurse Supervisor of the First Time Mums Program at Wuchopperen, Helen Moss, says the program has made a huge difference to the lives of over 350 families since its inception in Cairns.

“Over the past ten years we have seen the program grow dramatically and help hundreds of mums and bubs, with fantastic results. While the clinical results speak for themselves, the relationships we see our team form with the clients, the mums with their babies, and the mums with each other is the most incredible part of the program.

It is such a rewarding program to be a part of, the whole team really get to know the mums and bubs on a very personal level and seeing the mothers creative positive change for themselves and their families is deeply heart-warming. Ultimately we feel their success is our success!” says Helen.

The First Time Mums program has shown the importance of ongoing support and community in the direct health outcomes of mothers and their babies.

“100% of the babies who have come through the program were fully immunised by the time they turned two, which has had a significant impact on the long-term health of the babies, and 97% of our babies were within a healthy birth weight range. This is a huge achievement and sets up a really solid base for the rest of the child’s life,” says Helen.

Birth weight is a crucial aspect of new born health, with data from Queensland Health showing in 2015‐2016, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies were 1.8 times as likely to be low birth weight compared with non‐Indigenous babies.

2.2 QLD : Apunipima ACCHO team continues to roll out Mental Health First Aid training and Midwife workshop on Cape York

Apunipima’s Social Emotional Wellbeing Community Implementation Manager, Bernard David, was in Hope Vale last week.

Bernard was delivering Mental Health First Aid Training to staff from Apunipima and Hope Vale Council.

Mental Health First Aid Training is a three day training course that teaches you how to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis.

The training helps participants to identify, understand, and respond to signs of addictions and mental illnesses.

Earlier this month a group of expectant mums in Aurukun got together to celebrate their pregnancies.

The group were invited by Apunipima’s Midwife in conjunction with the PHaMs team to share their pregnancy stories, complications and individual family challenges. It also gave the women an opportunity to discuss ways they could support each other at this exciting time.

The women hope to have another yarning session closer to the time for the women to fly out of community to deliver their babies in Cairns.

This will give them a chance to discuss ways to manage the challenges associated with being away from home for extended periods of time, their options for support services in Cairns, labour, birth and early breastfeeding and parenting.

3. NT : Katherine West, Wurli-Wurlinjang and Sunrise Health Services ACCHO’s meet with 100 health professionals to enhance communication between hospitals, primary health and public health services

 

 “We need to be mindful of how we approach research in Aboriginal communities. Research must be done in partnership and not done to Aboriginal people

Sinon Cooney from Katherine West Health Board says of research

Health experts gathered in Katherine this week 14-15 March for Hot North, a four-year National Health and Medical Research Council funded research program led by Menzies School of Health Research.

The event will bring more than 100 health professionals together from local health services, such as Katherine Hospital, Katherine West, Wurli-Wurlinjang and Sunrise Health Services to enhance communication between hospitals, primary health and public health services and to share the latest research and findings on regionally specific health concerns

This time last year a group of health experts gathered in Katherine and called for more emergency housing to help fix chronic health problems here.

A year later, the same problems remain.

Those same health experts will gather in Katherine on Thursday and Friday this week for Hot North, a four-year National Health and Medical Research Council funded research program led by Menzies School of Health Research.

This time workshop will hear about regionally important health concerns such as antimicrobial resistance, disability and ageing, diabetes in pregnancy and youth, rheumatic heart disease, and new initiatives in skin health.

The event will bring more than 100 health professionals together from local health services, such as Katherine Hospital, Katherine West, Wurli-Wurlinjang and Sunrise Health Services to enhance communication between hospitals, primary health and public health services and to share the latest research and findings on regionally specific health concerns.

Hot North director, Professor Bart Currie said a major focus of the workshops is to give researchers, clinicians and other health professionals an opportunity to network, collaborate and share research.

“It gives researchers and Katherine health professionals the opportunity to strengthen relationships and facilitate learning experiences that develop and transform health practices across northern Australia.

“By developing a community of medical researchers and clinicians, HOT NORTH is connecting a wide range of experts to address the current and future challenges facing the tropical north”, said HOT NORTH Director, Professor Bart Currie.

With 65 activities funded to date, HOT NORTH-supported research and translation is investigating a wide range of health issues facing the Indigenous people living in northern Australia.

As one of the top Aboriginal health providers in the country, Katherine Hospital plays an important role in helping to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health outcomes.

Katherine Hospital’s head physician Dr Simon Quilty said, “The Katherine region is huge, and the challenges in providing health care in this remote and tropical region, that’s bigger than Victoria and Tasmania combined, are immense.

“Not only do we have the logistic issues of servicing over 13,000 people who live in remote communities, but these people come from over 20 different tribal nations with different beliefs and expectations of health.

“HOT NORTH provides a fantastic forum for health care professionals from across the north of Australia to mix with academics engaged in remote, tropical and Indigenous health to come up with ideas of how to do things better.”

Katherine Hospital and the health clinics servicing Katherine have made significant progress over the past number of years.

It now ranks as one the top hospitals in Australia for its relationship with its Indigenous patients.

“It’s the transfer of research and practical experience into better service delivery that will help us close the gap across the north and protect the north from tropical and emerging diseases,” added Professor Currie.

Based at Menzies, HOT NORTH utilises a strong collaborative approach between researchers and community, drawing on the expertise of research professionals from eight of Australia’s leading research organisations:

• Menzies School of Health Research
• James Cook University
• Telethon Kids Institute
• Marie Bashir Institute & The University of Sydney
• Doherty Institute & The University of Melbourne
• South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute
• QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
• Burnet Institute

4.1 NSW : Ten Aboriginal communities across NSW will receive significant infrastructure and service upgrades, thanks to a $55 million investment by the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government. 

 

Minister for Planning and Housing Anthony Roberts and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Sarah Mitchell today announced the funding, which is part of the new Roads to Home program, aimed at improving the quality of life and economic opportunities in discrete Aboriginal communities.

Pictured with Roy Ah See Chair NSW ALC yesterday at Bowraville launch 

“This is about connecting with some of our isolated communities in NSW and providing them with the facilities and services that they deserve,” Mr Roberts said.

“Some of these communities are facing challenges such as emergency vehicles having difficulty locating patients due to lack of street signs, waste not being collected due to unpassable roads, and school buses being unable to reach children because of road and drainage issues.”

The investment will deliver essential road upgrades to improve the connectivity of these communities, including road surfacing, stormwater and drainage, kerbs and footpaths, street and public space lighting, and power and telecommunication upgrades.

The Government will also update land tenure rules in these communities, which have been a primary barrier to home ownership and land development.

Ms Mitchell said the upgrades will have more than just a physical effect on the local communities.

“As a Government, it is crucial we do what we can to ensure these communities have access to the same standards and ongoing maintenance as their neighbours,” Ms Mitchell said.

“These upgrades will make it easier for people to get to and from work and school, improve road safety, and allow communities to grow and start new businesses and ensure these communities have access to the same standards and ongoing maintenance as their neighbours.”

NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) Chairman Roy Ah See welcomed today’s announcement.

“This announcement will change the lives of First Australians in discrete communities for the better. This has been a priority for NSWALC, and I appreciate that the Liberals & Nationals Government has listened to and acted on our concerns,” Mr Ah See said.

“This announcement will help build up Aboriginal communities, unlock opportunities and provide the ability for many to move toward home ownership and greater economic independence. This is another example of what can be achieved when government works with Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people.”

The first 10 communities to benefit from the NSW Government’s initial $55 million investment are:

• Bellwood Reserve, Nambucca (Nambucca Shire LGA)
• Bowraville, Nambucca (Nambucca Shire LGA)
• Cabarita, Forster (Mid-Coast LGA)
• Gingie Mission, Walgett (Walgett Shire LGA)
• Gulargambone Top, Weilan (Coonamble LGA)
• La Perouse Mission, La Perouse (Randwick LGA)
• Namoi Reserve, Walgett (Walgett Shire LGA)
• Narwan Village, Armidale (Armidale Dumaresq LGA)
• Three Ways, Griffith (Griffith LGA)
• Wallaga Lake Koori Village, Merrimans (Eurobodalla LGA)

Work will start in these communities this year.

4.1 NSW : NSW Labor Leader, Michael Daley and Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, David Harris, have today announced Labor’s policies to better support Aboriginal communities across NSW. Press Release

 

This builds on Labor’s previous significant announcements including a pathway to negotiate a Treaty or Treaties with the First Peoples of the State.

Mr Daley said: “Labor has always acknowledged the unique cultural heritage of the First Peoples as a priority.

“The Liberals and Nationals have spent eight years paying lip service to policies in Aboriginal Affairs but they haven’t made any substantive policy or legislative changes.”

Mr Harris said: “It’s important that a NSW Labor Government continues to build on the existing relationship with the NSW Aboriginal community to achieve lasting generational change.”

Under further measures announced today, Labor will:

• Appoint an Aboriginal Affairs Advocate for Children and Young People – The Advocate will be a voice for Aboriginal children in government policy and legislation and will work side by side with the Advocate for Children and Young People. Labor will work with Aboriginal communities to develop the role, determine its focus and make sure that it is Aboriginal-led to empower Aboriginal communities.
• Allocate $5 million over four years to reinstate traditional burning practices – Expanding traditional burning practices will open up country for the local Aboriginal community and restore the traditional forest structure. These programs will create employment and training opportunities for Aboriginal communities.
• Adopt the principles of Justice Reinvestment – A strategy that aims to reduce incarceration rates and improve social outcomes by directing resources into communities with high rates of imprisonment. Labor will deliver $4.5 million over four years to fund three pilot programs, which will be delivered through NGOs, and deliver a coordinating authority.
• Make a formal apology to victims of state-sanctioned massacres in NSW – Recent research identified at least 68 massacres in NSW between 1788 and 1872, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,653 Aboriginal people.
• Move the Department of Aboriginal Affairs to Premier and Cabinet – This demonstrates NSW Labor’s commitment to a future Treaty Process which will need cross portfolio co-ordination at the highest level.
• Fund the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) – The AECG is a not for profit Aboriginal organisation that provides advice on all matters relevant to education and training. Labor will deliver $4 million of additional money over four years which will enable the organisation to increase its participation in developing and supporting Aboriginal education across NSW.
• Secure the future of the Girls Academy – Provide $3.9 million in funding over four years to secure the future of the Girls Academy, a program focused on increasing school attendance and retention rates. Currently, the Clontarf Foundation, an organisation which provides education and life skills programs to Aboriginal boys and young men, is receiving government funding. The Liberals and Nationals have failed to provide funding for a similar program for girls and women.

Labor also recommitted to:

• Returning Me-Mel (Goat Island) to its traditional owners as a priority – Me-Mel has enormous significance to Indigenous communities and was home to the Wangal people when Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Cove in 1788. The Liberals and Nationals promised to return Me-Mel in October 2016, but the transfer has still not taken place.
• Establishing Walama Court – A court for indigenous offenders in the District Court jurisdiction, at a time when Aboriginal incarceration rates are worse in NSW than either at the time of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody or in 2011.
• Delivering dedicated Aboriginal Cultural and Heritage Act – NSW is the only state in Australia without standalone legislation to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage.
• Establishing a Myall Creek massacre education and cultural centre – Providing up to $3 million to help establish an education and cultural centre at the historic Myall Creek massacre site in northern NSW, supporting one of the state’s most well-known reconciliation projects.
• Flying the Aboriginal Flag on the Harbour Bridge – For 40 years, the Aboriginal flag has flown as a proud symbol for Indigenous Australians. A Daley Labor Government will fly the Aboriginal flag with the flags of Australia and New South Wales on the Harbour Bridge.
• Funding up to six scholarships for Indigenous medical doctors – The scholarship will be delivered through the highly successful Shalom Gamarada Indigenous Residential Scholarship Program. This program is sponsored by Sydney’s Jewish community and Shalom College at the UNSW. It has been successful in its goal to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians through higher education and by increasing the number of Indigenous professionals, especially in the critical area of Indigenous health.

4.2 NSW : ACCHO’s in Northern NSW partner with TAFE NSW to support and service qualifications that upskill the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health care workforce

THE first Indigenous cohort of health practitioners is set to graduate from TAFE.

Sixteen health care practitioners travelled from across the north coast to TAFE NSW Port Macquarie to celebrate the milestone and the finalisation of their Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Care Practice.

Originally Published HERE

Once they complete the remaining 300 workplace clinical hours of the 18-month course, they will be the first-ever student cohort in the NSW North Coast to graduate with the nationally-recognised qualification.

The students – all of whom already work as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) health practitioners and identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander – completed their sixth and final block of the course’s theory component last week. The big milestone was celebrated with a dinner at The Mercure restaurant.

TAFE NSW manager service delivery Aboriginal health, Daniel Morrison, said everyone was delighted to finish the face-to-face training blocks, each of which they travelled to TAFE NSW Port Macquarie to undertake.

“I am really proud of my students for achieving such a momentous milestone. I know they will be valuable community members with the skills and knowledge they’ve gained over the past 12 months,” he said.

“The TAFE NSW Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander Health Care Practice empowers practitioners to offer streamlined care to patients, upskilling them to provide professional practice work in a clinical setting. The overarching goal is to improve health outcomes for our communities and families.”

TAFE NSW partners with the Aboriginal Medical Service and several Local Area Health Districts to support and service qualifications that upskill the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health care workforce.

5. Tas : Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre ACCHO opens new tulaminakali Health clinic in Devenport 

6. ACT : Beds at the troubled Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm are likely to lay empty for longer after the government back tracked on plans to look for a provider for a residential program by early this year.

The $12 million custom-built facility in Canberra’s Tidbinbilla Valley – opened in late 2017 – was originally designed as an eight-bed residential facility for Indigenous people.

The government controversially abandoned the Indigenous community’s proposal for a residential drug and alcohol centre after it was revealed the area was not zoned for clinical services.

However it maintained plans for a residential program on the site to facilitate a “reconnection with the land and culture”.

But more than a year after it opened, clients are still bussed to and from daily activities at the farm. Just 34 participants have taken part since it opened.

A briefing for estimates hearings prepared by ACT Health in October revealed the government planned to put a tender out for a residential program at the farm by early 2019. But the government has since confirmed those plans are on hold.

It will not decide the future of the farm until the delayed “healing framework” – which was due for completion in January 2019 – is completed and a wide ranging review is handed down in October.

The government says there are separate plans to open a residential drug and alcohol facility for the Indigenous community.

“ACT Health will consider all findings and recommendations of the review as it rolls out to determine the most appropriate next steps for the [bush healing farm],” an ACT Health spokeswoman said.

She said the work was being done in close collaboration with members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, United Ngunnawal Elders Council as well as other stakeholders.

The government has denied the purpose of the farm was ever to include clinical services, but stakeholders have disputed that.

Winnunga Aboriginal Health Service and Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation walked away from the program in 2017 after it emerged no clinical services would actually be offered on-site.

The spokeswoman said, “The primary purpose of the [bush healing farm] is to provide an additional service to support a person’s reconnection with the land and culture and empower them to make new and more positive choices.

“The current operational model of the [bush healing farm] was not intended as a clinical model of alcohol and other drug withdrawal.

“However, the government recognises the need for Aboriginal specific services for withdrawal and rehabilitation and is at the same time progressing this work.”

The spokeswoman said that at the time of writing the estimates brief, the government anticipated the healing framework would be finalised by early 2019.

When that did not happen, the plans to put out a tender were scrapped.

“In addition, ACT Health initiated the review of the [bush healing farm] in September 2018, which will review the services, program design and delivery and governance of the facility,” she said.

“The review will build upon success and learnings to date and talk to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community about the best way forward for this service.

“The review is well underway and key stakeholders are contributing their views and aspirations for the [bush healing farm], which will inform next steps.

“During this review, further assessment will take place to determine the best way forward to provide a residential program, and the government will consider any changes as recommended by the review throughout the year.”

7. WA : AHCWA  headed to Bunbury last week to deliver the Certificate II in Family Wellbeing to a group of 10 students. 

 

Well done to everyone on the successful completion of their training

8. VIC : MDAS ACCHO : Mallee Mums find support and strength in each other

A new mum’s group at Mallee District Aboriginal Services is working with new and first-time parents to access better services – and build their mutual support networks at the same time.

The group was set up in response to suggestions from new mums last year, and organiser Maternal and Child Health Koori Maternity Services Assistant Nikita Morganson says it’s gone from strength-to-strength.

“It’s been fantastic for the mums involved to find a place and a network where they feel safe and supported,” Nikita said.

“This is a safe place where they have found they can come and yarn and be open with each other.
“We have special guests come to have conversations with the mums regarding anything to do with babies.

“We had the librarian come along to discuss the benefits of reading to baby, we also had the chemist come in to discuss myths and facts about products for babies and breastfeeding mums.”

Nikita said the group mixed formal and cultural activities, participating in sessions such as parents’ First Aid and other events within the community, with the support of one another.

“We’re also planning for Aunty Marilyne Nicholls to come along and do some cultural yarning with the mums and we’re hoping that might bring in some new faces as well,” she said.

Nikita said the mothers involved with the group were finding more confidence by supporting each other, even outside the group activities, bringing closeness and strength.

The new mums’ group is open to mums with new babies (whether first-time or not) and meets on Fridays (during school terms).

More information about what is available from the program contact Nikita Morganson at MDAS on (03) 5032 8600.