→ Yorgum Aboriginal Family Counselling Service, WA

An Aboriginal-specific counselling service in Perth is helping Indigenous individuals, families and communities to heal from the trauma of family violence and sexual assault as well as informing the work of service providers elsewhere in Australia.

"In all aspects of the work we do, our approach is to engage individuals, families and communities in their own healing," says Jade Maddox, Yorgum Aboriginal Family Counselling Service Chief Executive Officer.

"In our counselling service we create a safe environment where individuals and families have the opportunity to come up with their own strategies to restore their health and well-being," Ms Maddox said.

"This kind of approach is important because it allows people to take control of their own lives."

Yorgum began in 1991 when a group of Aboriginal women's refuge workers came together and established an Aboriginal Counselling Course. Their concern was that Aboriginal people were not accessing mainstream family support and counselling services.

At first, the Yorgum team provided counselling and staff support on a volunteer basis. Some time passed before they successfully attracted funding from World Vision and then the Department of Community Development. Incorporated in 1993, Yorgum continues to operate according to Aboriginal protocols and culturally appropriate terms of reference.

In addition to counselling, Yorgum's exclusively Aboriginal team of social workers, counsellors, community development workers and Building Solid Family Caseworkers offers holistic support through the following programs:

• Aboriginal Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Service
• Aboriginal Children Witnessing and Experiencing Family Violence
• Community Development Healing Project
• The Building Solid Families Program (WA State Link-up Service), which covers the regions of Perth, Moora, Bunbury, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie.

The latter program offers family tracing and support and reunions for Aboriginal people separated from their family though past government policies, such as the 1905 Aborigines Act that established the position of Chief Protector as legal guardian of every Aboriginal and 'half-caste' child in WA up to the age of 16.

The importance of Yorgum's work was reinforced in 2002 by a WA Government inquiry into family violence and child abuse in Aboriginal communities. Yorgum's psychologist at the time was part of the inquiry team lead by Magistrate Sue Gordon. The inquiry found that Aboriginal children are almost eight times more likely to be sexually abused than other Western Australian children; and that Aboriginal women are 45 times more likely to be victims of domestic violence and eight times more likely to be a victim of homicide. More recently, results of the groundbreaking WA Aboriginal Child Health Survey show clearly the toll on Aboriginal young people of the burden of physical illness, mental ill health, family stress and family dysfunction experienced by their primary carers, especially those with a history of forced separation.

At Yorgum, individual and family counselling sessions are available covering issues such as sexual abuse, family violence, relationships, grief and loss, crisis and trauma resolution, racism and Aboriginal identity.

"Assisting people who come through our Perth centre is just one part of our work," Ms Maddox said. "Yorgum also runs community development and education workshops across a wide range of locations to raise awareness about family violence within Aboriginal communities." During Yorgum's workshops, community members learn about their human rights, discuss the impact of colonisation and dispossession, participate in art therapy and develop plans to address abuse and violence in their communities.

"We are getting people to draw on cultural strengths and reconnect with their culture. People are stronger in their own communities than in the wider community," says Yorgum Community Development Officer, Julie Potter.

Yorgum is a Noongar word for a flowering red gum with healing properties; the Yorgum tree is the service's symbol. And like the tree, Yorgum's programs are showing bright signs of new growth and strength, including plans to refurbish the Perth premises to accommodate a training room and other facilities for the service's staff and expanding programs.

Seeds sewn elsewhere include in a town south of Perth, where following a workshop, one group of women took action with a housing provider and demanded that overdue repairs be made, resulting in freshly painted homes within three months.

"We are seeing self-determination and strength from community members. We are seeing hope in the faces of people that used to be filled with fear and disillusionment," says Ms Maddox.

"There are still many more steps to take on this long road, but we are making good progress and it is inspirational to see the change in people's lives."

Find out more

Yorgum Aboriginal Family Counselling Service
Phone: 08 9218 9477
Website: www.yorgum.org.au