A new landmark Aboriginal-led program providing culturally safe, long-term support for Aboriginal mothers and children in the Bunbury region has been launched by the Southern Aboriginal Corporation (SAC) in partnership with Curtin University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Co-designed with SAC, the Solid Families program uses culturally grounded, strengths-based approaches to promote healthy beginnings for Aboriginal women and their young families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It aims to empower Aboriginal women to have healthy pregnancies, and access practical supports, health education and service connections in early parenthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solid Families will provide the foundation for addressing complex challenges while delivering immediate, practical benefits for young Aboriginal mothers and their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The program, funded by a Medical Research Futures Fund grant and Curtin, was launched at an event attended by the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Don Punch, local Elders and community stakeholders in Bunbury last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Menang Noongar woman and Solid Families program lead Associate Professor Robyn Williams<\/a>, from Curtin Medical School<\/a>, said the program will address several Closing the Gap targets in providing culturally safe long-term, child and maternal health outreach services in Bunbury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAboriginal women continue to face barriers to engaging with mainstream health, social and antenatal care services, while the Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations are often under-resourced and underfunded,\u201d Associate Professor Williams said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNotably, the lack of culturally safe appropriate evidence-based programs has contributed to the rising over-representation of Aboriginal children and young people in child protection and justice systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSolid Families will promote healthy pregnancies, while supporting mothers through intensive case management informed by a cultural and trauma informed framework.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Associate Professor Williams and a multidisciplinary research team \u2014 including Professor Sandra Eades, Professor Dorothy Badry (Canada), Professor Anne-Marie Eades, Associate Professor Raewyn Mutch, Professor Francine Eades and SAC Chief Executive Officer Asha Bhat \u2014 will undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the Solid Families program to identify key learnings and examine the potential for expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SAC\u2019s Asha Bhat and Solid Families Coordinator Patricia Hayward welcomed the launch of the program, saying they hoped the success of Solid Families would support its expansion into other Western Australian regions and eventually across Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n