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deadly news
update
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Calling youngsters aged 10-15 who would like to learn direct from Waves coaches
Antonio Kaufusi and Ashley Simpson (pictured with IWC Director Stirling Eggmolesse). IWC has teamed
up with the rugby league greats to provide a new window of opportunity, with a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys and girls. Early next year, we will be providing skills development sessions at the Waves, including sport, nutrition and more.
Go to
www.iwc.org.au/events
for details, or pick up a nomination form from IWC Health & Wellbeing Community Centre in Bundaberg, or the Waves Sports Club at 1 Miller St, Norville.
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AGPAL Aboriginal Medical Service of the Year
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The IWC vision:
To be the optimal service of choice, transforming lives "where communities matter"
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The way IWC en
gages and consults with our communities is at the heart of our delivery of transformational holistic whole-of-person services.
I would like to take the opportunity to highlight two outstanding initiatives that are being driven by our IWC teams.
The first is a pilot initiative in the South Burnett that is supporting families into stable housing and positive, independent and resilient lifes
tyles. Local real estate business Pratt Agencies has
partnered with IWC to help deliver this support.
The initiative
works on a number of levels - helping to deliver secure housing, regular schooling for children, building household skills including budgeting, and dealing with immediate welfare needs before moving on to employability and getting adults into paid work that gives them independence.
This pilot started in November 2015, and almost a year on is delivering significant outcomes inclu
ding i
ncreased personal empowerment for clients, the building of families' capac
ity for independent living, and empowering parents to care for and protect their childre
n. As with all IWC services, this initiative is culturally responsive and inclusive, removing barriers to health and wellbeing in the way that IWC is known for. Consultation with Traditional Owner / Elders has been a major driver in its development and deployment.
This type of responsiveness to meet real community need is typical of IWC, and the South Burnett Child and Family Support team deserves the praise it is receiving for making this happen. You can read the full story at www.iwc.org.au/news
Another initiative of note, and one which again has been driven by community consultation and ident
ification of need, is a new regular event called Coffee in the Park.
This is being launched, in partnership with North Burnett Regional Council, to empower families and individuals around their health and wellbeing, and IWC's proactive approach to providing solutions has once again been welcomed by the community.
Coffee in the Park will deliver culturally responsive engagement around, and provide easy access to, a range of services. Importantly, it will empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and disadvantaged, vulnerable and at-risk members of our communities to seek support and guidance around their health and wellbeing. IWC is providing transport to build the accessibility to people in outlying regions and is delivering these events in a way that is totally inclusive.
The first Coffee in the Park events will be in Eidsvold on 5 October and Gayndah on 6 October. Once launched, the event will be held every two months, again over two consecutive days. It will include a range of health and wellbeing information sessions and activities.
Coffee in the Park has come about through the hard work of the North Burnett Multidisciplinary Care Team, and is a real
whole-of-community event that is engaging with schools, medical practices, community health and allied services, ambulance, police, aged care, employment and educational organisations, Queensland Mental H
ealth and other organisations including Lifeline, Anglicare and Bridges. IWC is pleased to deliver this event with the council which will enable a range of services and organisations to access the often hard-to-reach target groups in the region.
The team als
o has launched, as part of this initiative, a Swap One campaign which includes a "passport" to help
people improve their personal health and wellbeing through regular checks on blood pressure, blood sugar and weight.
It will seek to support people to swap just one eating, drinking or exercise habit, with ongoing monitoring to see how that change is improving health and wellbeing for that person. IWC works with GPs, medical centres and other health services across the region to provide shared care for clients.
Congratulations to both the South and North Burnett teams for their outstanding work.
The South Burnett Child and Family Support Team is supported by funding from the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, Department of Social Services, and the North Burnett Multidisciplinary Care Team is supported by funding from Queensland Health and CheckUP.
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From General Manager Wayne Mulvany
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This month marks a milestone for Bundaberg region as it seeks to deal with the issue of Ice and other drugs in our area.
On 4 October, a Working Party of key stakeholders - including Primary Health Network, Wide Bay Health and Hospital Service, Bundaberg Regional Council, IWC, Bridges, The Salvation Army and the Queensland Police Service - has been called so that together they can examine the possibility of establishing a residential rehabilitation facility in our region.
Politicians from all levels of government - Federal, State and Local - have committed to attend. This meeting is a direct identified action stemming from the Bundaberg Region Community Ice Forum held at IWC's Health & Wellbeing Community Centre in June.
In the three months since the ground-breaking Bundaberg Region Community Ice Forum, major steps forward have been taken to act on the issue of crystal methamphetamine and other drugs in our area.
Importantly, the co-facilitator of the Bundaberg forum and head of Queensland Health's Insight Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) education team, Jeff Buckley, is returning to Bundaberg on 12 October to deliver a full day of Ice training for frontline community workers at the IWC Health & Wellbeing Community Centre.
This training proved so popular that the 30 places initially offered were snapped up within days, and IWC negotiated with Insight to add another 20 places, with a focus on frontline health and community workers in non-government organisations in our region.
This will be practical and hands-on training for the types of services - covering youth, aged, homelessness, Indigenous peoples, struggling families, domestic violence and more - that participated in the forum on June 2.
Other direct actions stemming from the Community Ice Forum include:
- An AOD Network has been established, driven by Queensland Health, IWC and Bridges, and involving key providers of AOD services in our region.
- An AOD Parenting Program for people with adolescents using alcohol or drugs will get under way in November, run by IWC (see details below).
- Regular Relapse Prevention Programs are now being run by IWC (see details below).
- Work is under way on an intergenerational project around the Indigenous community's response to Ice and other drugs.
- At-risk youth are being targeted through a community initiative delivering weekly basketball sessions involving Queensland Police Service, Bridges, the UCC PaCE program and other community services. Bundaberg State High School and IWC have both provided supporting resources to this program.
IWC is a community-controlled and charitable organisation, and operates a successful Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) program. It
held the forum, working with the Primary Health Network Wide Bay Health and Hospital Service and Bundaberg NewsMail, in response to a growing need in our community to deal with the issue of Ice and other drugs.
More than 80 representatives of 46 organisations and groups participated in the workshop-style event.
Everything IWC delivers is driven by community demand and
consultation. So this milestone meeting on 4 October to look at the possibility of setting a rehabilitation facility in our region is a huge step forward for our community - one which IWC is pleased to have facilitated.
The aim of the June forum was to create a single community voice around the issue of Ice and other drugs. That has certainly happened. The vote by delegates to make the primary action of the forum a genuine exploration of the possibility of establishing a rehabilitation facility in Bundaberg was strong and clear.
It is to be hoped that the 4 October meeting will set the scene for big steps toward the establishment of a full rehabilitation facility in our region.
Let's hope the clarion call from our community around Ice and other drugs is able to make the decision-makers listen, and act.
IWC's Alcohol and Other Drugs program is partially supported by funding from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
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Weigh in for a free dietitian group session
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IWC's Accredited Practising Dietitian Hannah Parks will be delivering a FREE one-hour group session on 14 October.
So if you battle with weight or just want to know more about to eat healthier and feel better, come alone and get useful information and the opportunity to ask questions of Hannah.
All welcome, and we'll also give anyone who attends a personal health and wellbeing kit of a foldable drink bottle that you can take on walks, and a useful pocket or purse guide to food labels that you can take when you go shopping.
This is a grea
t opportunity to ask those questions so don't miss out. The session runs from 11am-noon at the IWC Health & Wellbeing Community Centre,
184 Barolin St, Bundaberg. It is free. Just book your place by calling 1
300 492 422 (1300 IWC IWC).
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IWC Accredited Practising Dietitian Hannah Parks and Nutrition and Health Promotions expert Shani Haworth will be in Eidsvold on 5 October as part of the Coffee in the Park event.
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Our thanks to Woongarra State School for inviting IWC to its Indigenous Celebration Day on Thursday 15 September. It was a great event, with activities including traditional face painting with ochre, clay printing, dancing and a sausage sizzle lunch with kangaroo sausages.
IWC's Indigenous Engagement Program (IEP) was pleased to present information to around 60 Year 4 students, teachers and parents on the Indigenous history of our region, and the meaning and uses of traditional artefacts.
Here's what Woongarra State School said:
"The Year 4 children had a magic day yesterday and it was perfect. The best one we have had yet. They enjoyed your presentation and every activity we had planned for the day. Some kids didn't want to go home and we needed to remind them that it was 3pm and school was finished for the day. We sent home some very tired but delighted children."
IWC is an Aboriginal community-controlled and charitable organisation committed to Reconciliation in Action.
IWC's IEP program is partially supported by funding from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and Department of Health
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IWC's Alcohol and Other Drugs program also received a well-deserved thumbs up in the NewsMail this month:
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IWC speaks at world conference on DV
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 IWC Director and Chaplain Cheri Yavu-Kama-Harathunian (pictured) was keynote speaker at the 3rd Indigenous Stop Domestic and Family Violence World Conference in Adelaide from September 14-16.
Aunty Cheri spoke on "
Lateral Violence The Cultural Core Of Family & Domestic Violence - An Aboriginal Perspective".
The purpose of the conference was to work towards putting an end to all forms of family and domestic violence, not only in Indigenous communities but in the general community. It focused on both men and women equally, and together with all other family members.
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Support for families and individuals around AOD
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If you have, or have had, drug and / or alcohol concerns, IWC is offering a free four-session group education program.
It is confidential and open to anyone, and deals with the following topics:
- Making a change and staying on track
- Changing ways of thinking and dealing with difficult emotions
- Problem-solving and goal-setting
There is a limit of 12 people per group, and you must attend an appointment for assessment and registration prior to the start of the group sessions.
So, because getting off alcohol or other drugs can be the relatively easy part of overcoming a problem with substance use, and staying off and regaining control over your life can be harder, this service is here for everyone.
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For parents who have concerns about their adolescent's use of alcohol and / or drugs, IWC is offering a seven-session group program. It is free of charge, confidential and open to parents in the Bundaberg region.
So if you are a parent and want to learn techniques to improve your relationship with your teen, and build strong family connections, book your place now. The first session will run on from 6pm-7pm on 2 November, and for the following six weeks at the same time. It will be held at the IWC Health & Wellbeing Community Centre at 184 Barolin St, Bundaberg.
To book a place on any of these initiatives, call Lee Hammond, who heads IWC's Alcohol and Other Drugs Program, on
1300 492 492.
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Do you want to quit
smoking? IWC's Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) program is running a free monthly group session from Tuesday October 4.
The sessions will run from 3.30pm at the IWC Health & Wellbeing Community Centre in Bundaberg, and are open to everyone.
You will be able to come along and talk to a counsellor, gain advice on the latest methods for successful quitting, and get support from other people who also are seeking to quit.
You don't need to book. Just come along on the first Tuesday of each month to the IWC Health & Wellbeing Community Centre, and go to Level 1.
Sessions will run for 90 minutes and are free of charge.
Free quit packs will be provided.
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The IWC Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) program is partially supported by funding from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
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Learning is fun with IWC early development sessions
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"Exciting, interesting, fun and engaging" - that's how parents and carers have described the latest IWC Play & Learn session, which was held on 28 September at IWC's Health & Wellbeing Community Centre.
"The children were really interested," said one mother, who brought along several children.
Another parent described "the fun energy, dancing - the children engaging with each other".
The only downside they said was: "It went too fast!"
The session focused on child literacy, with storytelling, craft activities and a scavenger hunt - all to a Dilly Bag theme.
The Play & Learn sessions are delivered by the IWC's Families' Wellbeing program, which provides child development support and therapeutic education.
A special thanks to Gaye McWilliams, First Five Forever Project Manager with Bundaberg Regional Council, who once again enraptured the children with her storytelling skills.
The sessions are held in each of the main school holiday periods and the next one will be on 14 December, with a Christmas theme, so put it in your diary.
The IWC Families' Wellbeing program is supported by funding from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
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Cherbourg will host a large outdoor concert today (October 1), as part of this year's South Burnett & Cherbourg On Show October long weekend.
The Yhurri Gurri Us Mob Arts And Culture Festival will run at Jack O'Chin Oval from 1pm-6m and focus on music, arts, food and indigenous culture.
"Yhurri Gurri" means "welcome" in Wakka Wakka.
IWC is proud to support this event.
IWC's South Burnett Child and Family Support Team is supported by funding from the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, and the Department of Social Services.
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Homeless benefit from Order of Malta gift
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HOMELESS people across the Bundaberg region will receive almost 100 warm, waterproof coats thanks to the generosity of the Australian Association of the Order of Malta.
The Australian Association of the Order of Malta's has gifted 96 coats - eight boxes of a dozen - to the Bundaberg community.The donation was organised by IWC's Communities team.
The coats have been distributed through its own Family and Community
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St Vincent De Paul, IWC, Impact Community Services and The Salvation Army representatives with the coats. The organisations, plus Ozcare Men's Hostel, have been distributing the coats for homeless people across our region.
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programs as well as a range of other local services including Bundaberg Youth Refuge, Impact Community Services, St Vincent de Paul and Ozcare's Men's Hostel.
This is an area of high need, and IWC and other agencies are working every day with people who are homeless and in need of items such as this.
The coats are specially designed for homeless people.
"They are black so as to be inconspicuous in dark alleys and parks," said a spokesman for the Order of Malta. "The homeless report that their biggest fear is being assaulted.
"They have secret internal pockets for their few valuables. And our unique coat is both portable and mobile - in an emergency the wearer simply stands up a
nd walks (or runs) away. It is also easily worn by day in winter."
The aim of the Association is to distribute 6000 coats across Australia, free of charge, to those sleeping rough on the streets of our towns and cities.
The coordination of the donation by IWC was put in place to ensure the coats reached into the most needy areas of the Bundaberg region community. IWC works
closely with agencies right across the region, and feels very privileged to be able to partner with the Order of Malta to deliver this initiative to the needy in our area.
The IWC communities programs are partially funded by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
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Suicide intervention skills training at IWC
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Gin Gin State High School, with sponsorship by Evolution Mining, will hold the ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) course at IWC Health & Wellbeing Community Centre in Bundaberg on 25 and 26 October.
It runs from 8.30am-4.30pm both days (participants are required to attend for both full days), and costs $150 per person including GST. This includes lunch and morning tea on both days.
To sign up, contact Darren Lawrence of Gin Gin SHS at dlawr34@eq.edu.au
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Head to Anti-Poverty Week event
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IWC will be part of the Anti-Poverty Week free event to be held in Bundaberg on Friday 21 October. Come along to the event at Alexandra Park in Quay St (Northern End Gazebo) from 10.30am-2.30pm.
This community event will include trash & treasure, sausage sizzle, children's activities, plus medical checks and lots of information from services that support homeless people.
IWC's Indigenous Engagement and Participation (IEP) and Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) programs will be providing a range of information about all of our organisation's services.
IWC's IEP and AOD programs are partially funded by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
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Did you know that our phone number - 1300 492 492 - also is 1300 IWC IWC? It's an easy way for our clients to remember it!
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IWC was pleased to welcome Georgia Phillips and Kym Haynes to the IWC Health and Wellbeing Community Centre on 28 September when they delivered their training designed to "Put the F back Into family".
Kym is the Clinical Director of the iRecover Me programs, and Georgia is the owner of The Addictive World.
The program delivered at IWC used the non-violent communication skill set of the 9 Conscious Choices covering addiction,anxiety, depression, bullying, domestic violence
and post-traumatic stress disorder.
There was a strong turnout for the event, and we look forward to welcoming them back in a few months' time.
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