A GLBTQI Social and Support Group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has started meeting in Maroubra.
A GLBTQI Social and Support Group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has started meeting in Maroubra in a culturally safe and informal space. The group will run weekly on Wednesday evenings for a few hours for the next ten weeks. The group is facilitated by a local Aboriginal man, who identifies and is assisted by a local Aboriginal woman who was the driving force behind this group.
It has been funded by The Aurora Group, which support a wide range of issues in GLBTQI communities in New South Wales, particularly those that struggle to gain the support of government or another community fundraising.
The group’s objectives are:
- To empower and educate Aboriginal people who identify as GLBTQI to feel capable and confident about being themselves
- To engage socially isolated Aboriginal people who identify as GLBTQI into a social group which in turn will become a support system and link them with other appropriate support when required
- To provide the necessary guidance to the group to become self-run with the support of The Junction Neighbourhood Centre.
- To provide safe discussions, activities and information in areas including Coming out in Community, Sexual Health, Being Yourself and Being Happy and local GLBTQI Support Systems.
This group has been in the planning for over a year. It started with major consultations with the La Perouse Aboriginal community, which indicated a huge need for this kind of support group in this area. There is currently no GLBTQI support or social services in the Eastern Suburbs and although there are some in Sydney and Redfern, none of them is Aboriginal specific.
The support and feedback from elders, the local community, and people far and wide have been overwhelming. Aboriginal Pastor Ray McKinnon, the CEO of Kinchela Boys Home, Aboriginal Corporation have also expressed his support for the GLBTQI Social and Support Group.
For more information please visit http://www.jnc.org.au
