Aged care champion Hope Meatuai, who works for the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA)
A pilot project that partners advocates with local ‘champions’ is already paying dividends for older people living in rural and remote areas.
‘It’s not possible to have a full-time aged care advocate in every location – and it’s not always culturally appropriate,’ OPAN CEO Craig Gear said.
‘By partnering with people who have the necessary skills, connections, knowledge and authority, we can increase knowledge of the services available.
‘And by coming back, again and again, we can develop a culturally appropriate and culturally safe service delivery model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders.’
OPAN’s Rural and Remote Service Delivery Pilot is currently being delivered by 2 of our 9 network members – Darwin Community Legal Service (DCLS) and Advocare, in Western Australia.
Lack of trust
‘Often people in communities like Milingimbi and Ramingining, in the East Arnhem region, don’t trust outsiders due to generational trauma,’ says DCLS advocate Ramnik Walia, who first visited the area, 560 kilometres east of Darwin, 5 years ago.
‘And that means they do without the care they need.’
According to a recent study published in the Medical Journal of Australia, only 52% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders used the aged care services for which they were eligible.
Catherine Fairlie, General Manager of Community Services at the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA), saw OPAN’s 12-month pilot project as one way of addressing that issue.
She was instrumental in recruiting OPAN’s first 3 aged care champions in the region – Hope Meatuai, Jacob Balbunhamirri and Gertie Nawia.
‘Our community development program team members have really embraced this opportunity to support the community further, enhancing their daily lives and self-determination,’ Catherine said.
Ripple effect
Since DCLS and ALPA teamed up in June, DCLS has received 14 separate referrals and self-referrals.
‘It’s having a ripple effect,’ Ramnik said.
‘For many years, organisations have been going in and promising palaces – and then they don’t come back. This has caused a lot of mistrust in local communities.
‘However, as the largest Aboriginal organisation in the Northern Territory with a long history of good outcomes, ALPA has built a lot of trust within the communities they operate. This means that local community members are confident that they’re partnering with reliable providers.
‘DCLS advocates have been travelling to East Arnhem Land for several years, but we don’t always have the local knowledge we need to understand how the community works and what the current issues are in relation to aged care. This is where ALPA’s knowledge and connections have been valuable.
Building rapport
‘By working at a grassroots level, we can build the rapport we need to run this program in an effective way.’ Ramnik said.
The Rural and Remote Service Delivery Pilot was informed by an independent evaluation of the Financial Wellbeing and Capability Program, developed by another OPAN member, CatholicCare NT, which noted the ‘unique and exceptional status of the Northern Territory’, based on ‘distance, demographics and disadvantage.’
It provides quarterly face-to-face training sessions for aged care champions supported by monthly check-in sessions by phone.
‘This project has a lot of potential, but it’s going to take time,’ says Ramnik, ‘because we as advocates are learning on a day-to-day basis, the same as champions.’
