26 February 2015 | General Interest
The second trial of a new SNAICC trauma-focused pilot program has been well received by participants in Ballarat, which is now being reviewed with a look to a national rollout later this year.
The SNAICC training team completed its first trial of the Recognising and Responding to Trauma workshop in Lismore from 13-14 November, working with a full group of Aboriginal participants.
The second pilot workshop on Recognising and Responding to Trauma was delivered in Ballarat on 24-25 November. Participants of the Ballarat workshop came from a variety of different professional backgrounds, and from both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal services working with community. This enabled the group to learn and gain knowledge from each other in a culturally safe environment and gain insights into differences and similarities in approach.
Talking about trauma can be difficult, so there’s a strong emphasis on discussing the impact it can have on the support person when working closely with children and families who are experiencing signs and symptoms attached to trauma.
Participants from the workshops have provided valuable feedback, with many praising the engaging content and excellent delivery.
“Time spent learning alongside an amazing group of Aboriginal women.”
“Trauma training was very relevant; very easy to understand; delivered clearly.”
“Very engaging – especially the stories.”
“Extremely relevant and easy to understand. Great DVDs and power point presentations.”
“As a student I don’t have many stories yet, but listening to everyone was a great learning opportunity.”
As with the initial trial workshop in Lismore, the Ballarat workshop was delivered in partnership with Sue-Anne Hunter from VACCA, the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency. SNAICC and VACCA will continue in partnership to further enhance the training package and to ensure the content is relevant for working with different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
