Signature Yarning concludes

In 2007 RFNSW received a grant from the Mental Health Coordinating Council to create a culturally-appropriate model for the delivery of services to Aboriginal people that would be effective in both the city and the bush.

The original grant funded a three-phase plan to achieve the goals of the project: consultation with Aboriginal organizations, recruitment of two project officers to prepare the syllabus and training materials and conduct the training, and finally an evaluation of the completed program by a suitably qualified academic.

Project Manager Erina Tipoki conducted a search for the project officers and recruited Virginia Robinson and Priscilla Johnson to bring the project to fruition. The three worked together to complete the syllabus and training materials, and a pilot training session was held on July 8, just four months after the project began.

The success of the pilot session was followed by a rollout of the program to RFNSW staff across NSW, concluding with the final session on November 26. A total of 196 staff members have completed their Signature Yarning training.

The final Signature Yarning training session was held in Homebush on Wednesday, November 26, 2008 bringing to a close the series of cultural awareness workshops that has brought a new understanding of Aboriginal Australians’ history and culture to RFNSW.

The academic evaluation is now being carried out through Flinders University and is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2009.