Thirrili - Indigenous Suicide Postvention Service

5 months ago

Aunty Gracelyn Smallwood, who was a Senior Cultural Advisor and Mentor at Thirrili, has been a trailblazer in protecting the rights and improving the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. Have a read about her amazing work in creating a superhero and becoming a global leader in HIV prevention!

#NAIDOC2024#AuntyGracelynSmallwood #IndigenousHealth #Trailblazer #hivprevention #aboriginalrights #TorresStraitIslander #CulturalAdvocate #Thirrili #healthleadership #condomanWhen HIV arrived on Australian shores in the early 1980s, politicians and healthcare workers worried the virus would run rampant in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This didn’t happen – thanks to highly successful health promotion campaigns and public health programs rolled out around the country by Aboriginal-controlled medical services, from 1987.

The most famous of these was “Condoman”, the First Nations superhero whose safe-sex directive “Don’t be shame, be game: Use condoms!” captured hearts and minds across the continent.

Aunty Gracelyn Smallwood, a proud Birrigubba, Kalkadoon and South-Sea Islander woman and registered nurse/midwife, was central to this public health response, working alongside her colleague and friend Phillip Mills and other health workers throughout the state.

Her advocacy took her from her hometown of Townsville all the way to the highest offices of Australia’s HIV and AIDS response, where she played a part in shaping a world-leading approach to the virus.

Don’t be shame, be game!

In 1987, Aunty Gracelyn joined the the National Advisory Commission on AIDS (NACAIDS) as the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representative. Chaired by media personality Ita Buttrose, the committee was, in Aunty Gracelyn’s words, made up of “middle-class white folks” who “really didn’t know our world”.

The infamous Grim Reaper campaign featured a black-cloaked wraith in a bowling alley “striking down” so-called everyday Australians. Aunty Gracelyn explained to her colleagues that while it might connect with non-Indigenous Australians, for the communities she represented, it was simply a frightening and off-putting “skeleton walking around with a big cane knife”. Moreover, there were no bowling alleys in the remote communities and missions where many members of Aunty Gracelyn’s community lived or came from.

As a result, Aunty Gracelyn got some modest federal government funding, just A$5,000, to put together a team of health workers and social workers from community-controlled health organisations across Queensland.

Read in full

theconversation.com/first-nations-superhero-condoman-was-a-world-leader-in-hiv-prevention-aunty-g... ... See MoreSee Less

Thirrili - Indigenous Suicide Postvention Service

5 months ago

Are you someone who would like to make a difference?

Thirrili is a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisation. As the national provider for postvention support and assistance, our mission is to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities thrive and flourish for generations to come.

We are looking for passionate Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander individuals who can honour and support the unique cultural heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. If you believe in the power of shared, collective, and continuous ancestral connections and can draw on cultural ways of knowing, being, and doing, we want you on our team.

We have roles available in NSW, NT, WA, and VIC/TAS.

At Thirrili, we:
• Support communities in the aftermath of suicide or other critical incidents.
• Collaborate with communities to build self-determined lives free from the impacts of suicide.
• Drive systemic change at all levels.

If you're ready to contribute to a brighter future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, we'd love to hear from you. Join us in making a meaningful impact!

www.seek.com.au/3-Emus-Recruitment-and-Consulting-jobs/at-this-company ... See MoreSee Less