Nowra

The Aboriginal community in Nowra and surrounds from the traditional lands of the Yuin Nation, have been coming together since the 1980s in support of Aboriginal women’s health. Today Waminda – South Coast Women’s Health & Wellbeing Aboriginal Corporation – is an Aboriginal women-led community controlled health organisation that works with the vision for Aboriginal women and (their) families to be leading and living self-determined futures. It provides a culturally safe and holistic service, providing women and their Aboriginal families an opportunity to belong and receive quality health and well-being support. Their focus is to provide tailored strength based care.

Waminda is also dedicated to decolonisation; by challenging and disrupting policies, practices, beliefs and barriers that discriminate and marginalise Aboriginal people and communities, and to decolonise the organisation and the broader systems that impact the lives of their communities.

Waminda has several youth programs that act as circuit breakers which are managed by a ‘Beehive’ team and a ‘JR team’ of two co-managers, a data officer, two caseworkers and a project support worker. The ‘circuit breaker’ style programs serve to support Aboriginal people navigate systems and grow their life choices; such as the Education & Employment Pathways & Social Enterprise Service where in-school traineeships and paid learning opportunities help inviduals gain valuable vocational skills and support for life skills development.

At the Blak Cede Cafe career pathways in hospitality and opportunitiers for entrepreneurship can be fostered through social enterprise.

The Justice Reinvestment program in Nowra through Waminda’s youth services, collectively known as ‘Midthong Muru’ include ‘Nala Muru’, a youth justice program that ensures Aboriginal young people with ADVOs recieve high quality, intensive culturally appropiate and safe support, including:

• Transport to court and reporting
• Cell support
• Advocacy during court proeedings
• Case plans
• Inschool, after school programs and playground support
• Relationship support with schools, TAFE, suspension uniyts and other care services
• Camps, morning gym and sports teams
• Drivers licence, birth certificates, ID, white cards, bank accounts
• Cultural mentoring, counselling, work development orders, life coaching
• Koori language, song and dance programs, artefact making
• Access to brokering, hygeine packs, gym equipment and sauna

This program has also been specfically adapted in ‘Bulwul Balaang’, designed for and led by Koori women – empowering young women by helping them connect with their culture, build strong support networks, and adopt healhthy lifesylte cahnges that enhance their physical, social, and emotional wellbeing.

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