Victorian Aboriginal Health Service -VAHS

New season... new job? 🌸🤷

VAHS is looking for someone to join our Preventative Health team as a Community Health Promotion Officer - Tackling Indigenous Smoking, based in Traralgon📍

This is an Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander identified position, which will implement local health promotion activities, focussed on anti-tobacco and anti-vaping, including school and youth programs supporting smoke free homes, workplaces and communities 🚭

We are also hiring a security officer for our Fitzroy site 🔐

This position is responsible for providing security presence at our Fitzroy clinic, to ensure the safety of our clients and staff. You must have a valid Security License and a sound understanding of Aboriginal Community Control 🪪

🔗 See the position descriptions in the comments. Applications for both positions close Sunday 15 September.

❗VAHS Fitzroy has limited walk-in availability today and we cannot guarantee that all walk-in patients will be seen.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause 🙏

The clinic will also be closed until 1pm tomorrow for our month staff meeting, so we encourage morning patients to attend Preston, South Morang or St Albans 🏥

Remember, if you need to speak to someone straight away, our Yarning Safe N Strong hotline is free, available 24/7 and confidential ☎

❗️Community notice - the Fitzroy dispensary is CLOSED until 1pm today.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

For all medication pick-ups, please come and see us after 1pm and be aware there may be backlog.

🌧 Due to the current weather conditions in Melbourne, phone lines are down at VAHS Fitzroy.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please be patient with our staff as we work with our IT team to get phones back up and running ☎️

VAHS has expert staff across all areas of health looking after Mob, at all stages of their careers 👩‍⚕️

This Meet Us Monday, we’re yarning with Tooba, who is one of our trainee general practitioners 🩺

Name and job title: Tooba Mollah, a GP registrar, or GP in training 🥼

Which clinic do you work at?: VAHS Fitzroy 🏥

How long have you been working at VAHS and what brought you here?: I have been working at VAHS since this February. I was interested in working in community health, and despite being a non-Indigenous person, I was particular eager to learn more about Indigenous healthcare and the factors that have the most positive impact on Community firsthand. So far, I am finding it very rewarding, despite the challenges, when you get some traction and see the changes it’s a huge win-win.

How would you summarise your role at VAHS?: I work as any other GP does here, seeing my own patients or working the duty room. The only difference is, being a trainee, I have more supervision, always working alongside another doctor I can ask questions or for advice if I need. I also attend regular teaching 🧑‍🏫

What health advice do you have for Mob?: Come in even if you don’t think we can help – you will be surprised at some the resources you have access to through VAHS, and it’s always better to ask. Remember, two (or more) brains on a problem is always better than one!

❗Tomorrow, Monday 2 September we will have no duty doctor at VAHS Fitzroy until 1pm.

We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause 🙏

For walk-in appointments at Fitzroy, please attend the clinic after 1pm and be patient with our staff as there may be backlog 🏥

We are thrilled to invite Community to the official opening of our South Morang clinic next Friday, 6 September 🎉

Join us at 855 Plenty Road from 11am-12pm for a smoking ceremony, lunch and tour of the clinic as we celebrate this exciting milestone 🔥

RSVP at our Facebook event linked in the comments ⤵️

The Blaklympics aren’t over yet – the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games kick off today! 🧑‍🦽

Four Mob athletes will be racing in the green and gold for the Australian Paralympic team 💚💛

🚴‍♀️ Wemba Wemba/Guring-gai woman Amanda Reid will return to her fourth Paralympic Games, contesting the C2 500m paracycling

🏊‍♀️ Swimmer Ruby Storm will return to her second Paralympics, racing in the SB14 100m breaststroke, S14 100m butterfly, SM14 200m freestyle and form part of the S14 4x100m relay team

🥏 Waka Waka/Gubbi Gubbi woman Samantha Schmidt will don the green and gold in her second Paralympic Games in the F38 discus

🏃‍♀️ 16-year-old Walpiri high school student Telaya Blacksmith has been selected to compete at her first Paralympic Games in the women’s T20 400m event

We are incredibly proud of these four incredible blak women as role models for not only leading healthy lifestyles, but for inclusion in sport. We are cheering you on from Victoria! 👏

Thank you very much for everyone's patience as we continue to work through staff shortages and systems outages at VAHS this week 🙏

While we are back online, we have made the decision to close the Fitzroy clinic for walk-ins for the remainder of today, due to low staff.

Patients with existing booked appointments will still be seen 🏥

We encourage those wanting walk-in appointments to attend Fitzroy clinic tomorrow if possible, when we are back at full staff capacity.

Again, we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your continued patience.

Last week, figures from the Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children Inquiry became public, revealing that First Nations women represent 16 per cent of all Australian women homicide victims, despite comprising just 2-3 per cent of the adult female population.

This isn’t news to us. We know First Nations women are disproportionally overrepresented in these devastating statistics, and we know that typically, their lives and stories are ignored by mainstream media.

Djirra CEO Antionette Braybrook AM spoke to The Guardian and called on Australia’s leaders to take urgent action, and listen to how self-determined solutions by Mob for Mob bring about meaningful change ⤵️

We stand with Djirra and the other organisations fighting for our women and children, send our heartfelt condolences to all families impacted by this devastating violence, and commend the strength and resilience of survivors 💜

These figures are extremely distressing and may bring up trauma for readers. We urge you to prioritise your wellbeing during this difficult time, whether that means taking a break from social media and the news cycle, or seeking help.

VAHS provides culturally safe, confidential social and emotional wellbeing services for Mob.

☎ Call our free, 24/7 helpline Yarning Safe N Strong on 1800 959 563
🏥 Visit the Women’s and Children’s Unit at VAHS Preston, to discuss holistic care in a culturally safe, judgement free area and other services such as our regular women’s groups.

Djirra CEO and Change the Record Co-Chair Antoinette Braybrook has shared a powerful opinion piece in The Guardian today, following release of the Missing and murdered First Nations women and children inquiry report.

🖤💛❤️

“Much of what we said to this inquiry – to every inquiry and committee – is not new,” writes Antoinette.

“For many, many years we have been highlighting the same issues, the same systemic racism and targeting of our people on one hand, and on the other repeating the same proven self-determined solutions that will bring change.”

“But are those in power listening to us?”

“Now more than ever we are looking to all political leaders – regardless of party – for urgent action and change that puts our women’s and children’s safety first.”

Change the Record

🔗 https://bit.ly/3WSlVvn

Antoinette Braybrook

❗Our systems are currently down at VAHS Fitzroy, so we are currently unable to access patient information or answer any calls.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

VAHS Fitzroy is also still short staffed. If your appointment can wait until tomorrow, we encourage you to wait.

If urgent, please visit South Morang or St Albans, call Yarning Safe N Strong on 1800 959 563, or 000 if it is an emergency.

Thank you for your patience while we endeavour to troubleshoot this issue 🙏

Due to Sorry Business, VAHS Fitzroy is short staffed, meaning you may not be able to be seen today, and VAHS Preston is not open for walk-ins today, and only those with pre-existing appointments will be seen 🌹

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Please be patient and respect our staff if you are unable to be seen today 🙏

Our South Morang and St Albans clinics are open as per normal hours 🏥

If you need to talk to someone right now, our Yarning Safe N Strong phone line is free, confidential and available 24/7 on 1800 959 563 ☎️

If you are attending the North Western Melbourne PHN Community Yarn at South Morang, it has been RESCHEDULED❗️

Due to Sorry Business, we will now be meeting on Friday 30 August from 10am-12pm 🗓

We hope to still see you there to share your valuable input 🙏

Did you know that VAHS has a culturally safe and judgement free space for First Nations men to share lunch and yarn together every second Thursday of the month? 👨🏿‍🤝‍👨🏾

For Mob Monday this week, we yarned with Darah from our Men’s Unit, who bring Community together and provide a supportive space to yarn, share art and culture, and link up to other support services.

Name and job title: Darah Morris, Men’s Unit Team Leader and Case Manager

Who is your Mob?: Wiradjuri, Bangerang, Yorta-Yorta 🖤💛❤️

Which clinic/s do you work at?: VAHS Preston

How long have you been working at VAHS and what brought you here?: I have been here for four years. I came to VAHS because I wanted to give back to my community.

In 1-2 sentences, summarise what you do at VAHS: I work in the Men’s Unit team to provide one on one support for Aboriginal men, linking them with other support services, as well as running the VAHS Men’s Yarning Circle every fortnight.

What men’s health advice do you have for Mob? Get linked in. There are different services in the community that you might not know about or be aware of, but sometimes talking to the right person can help connect you with the help you need.

Next month, the Men’s Yarning Circle will be held on Thursday 5 and Thursday 19 September at Barrbunin Beek Aboriginal Gathering Place, Heidelberg West 📍

New faces are always welcome, if you’re keen to head along, reach out to [email protected]

❗URGENT NOTICE ❗

VAHS' information system is currently down, meaning we have lost access to all appointment information.

All sites and services will have a delay in getting information, and we apologise in advance for the inconvenience this may cause.

Our team is endeavouring to troubleshoot this issue as soon as possible, and we thank you for your patience as we work through this 🙏

Did you know that Mob are twice as likely to experience epilepsy as other Australians? 🤔

Sound scary? The scarier thing is, we know very little as to why this is 🥺

That’s why we’re keen for Mob to participate in the Global Epilepsy Needs Survey, endorsed by Epilepsy Foundation of Australia and VAHS 💜

“I encourage Mob to take this opportunity to have their say at a local level in Australia, as well as worldwide, to inform future research into the needs of people living with epilepsy,” VAHS Clinical Director Dr Lewis Rassaby said.

“Here at VAHS, we aim to close the gap of the access to specialist epilepsy treatment services for Mob. We have access to quick diagnosis and ongoing treatment by epilepsy specialists, which you can access in the comfort of your usual VAHS clinic.

“Nobody living with epilepsy should go it alone, and the more we know, the better.”

The survey can be accessed via the link in the comments 🔗

VAHS is short staffed at our Fitzroy clinic this week 🏥

We apologise in advance for any inconvenience anticipated delays or longer waiting times may cause 🙏

Our Preston, South Morang and St Albans clinics are open as usual, as is the 24/7, free, confidential Yarning Safe N Strong helpline, on 1800 959 563 ☎️

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 000 immediately 🚑

👀 Want to work with us?

VAHS is rapidly expanding, so we’re looking for new team members in the below roles to help us continue making an impact on First Nations health 🧑‍⚕️

🗣️ Speech therapist https://bit.ly/4cqfRA8
We’re looking for someone with qualification and registration as a speech pathologist with Speech Pathology Australia to provide culturally safe speech pathology services to Aboriginal children and their families.

🤰🏾 Aboriginal health worker – maternity services (identified position) https://bit.ly/46UBQOI
This position is responsible for implementing culturally appropriate services to expectant mothers, working as part of a team of midwives to deliver pre and post-natal care to women accessing the Koori Maternity Services. This is an identified position for someone of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, with a qualification as an Aboriginal health worker or other relevant profession, and experience working in an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

👨‍👦‍👧 Support worker – Koori Families as First Educators Balert Gerrbik (identified position) https://bit.ly/3Mdnsas
This role will provide culturally appropriate support to contribute to the early learning of Aboriginal children aged 0-5, and support strong parenting outcomes for Aboriginal families. This is an identified position for someone of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, with a qualification as an Aboriginal health worker or other relevant profession, and experience working in an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

If you are interested in one of these roles, please send your application, including a cover letter, resume and responses to the selection criteria to [email protected] before 9pm Sunday 1 September.

Happy Monday! Today we’re yarning with Steve from our youth alcohol, drugs and mental health team.

Name and job title: Steve Cornell, Team Leader for youth alcohol or drugs and mental health 👨‍⚕

Which clinic do you work at?: Preston, but I’m an outreach worker so I’ll go where Community needs us, mainly in the north and north western metro regions.

How long have you been working at VAHS and what brought you here?: I’ve worked at VAHS now for just over one year. I came to VAHS because I want to work with Community, having worked in mainstream health prior. I enjoy seeing and learning from the strengths and wisdom of First nations Communities and I feel quite blessed that I get to see the cultural activities and tradition I do through my job 🖤💛❤

In 1-2 sentences, summarise what you do at VAHS: I have two parts to my role, one is being an alcohol and drugs and mental health outreach worker. This is based on a social and emotional wellbeing framework to work holistically with the whole person and their families. The other half is being a team leader, where I have five team members who report to me, so I provide them with clinical expertise, and also ensure their health and wellbeing, given their work on the front line.

What mental health and wellbeing advice do you have for Mob? Start the conversation and don’t suffer in silence. There are a lot of help and support options out there, so never give up even if you have had a bad experience in the past, there are other workers and organisations and I genuinely believe there is a worker for every person and every family 🤝

Thank you to the Mob who have already signed up for the VAHS Community Yarns - the Melton, Wyndham Vale, South Morang and Preston sessions are booked out! ❌

We have five more spots up for grabs for the St Albans session on Tuesday 20 August ⌛

Don't miss out on your chance to have your say about your experience accessing community health services 🧑‍⚕️

Sign up via the link in the comments 🔗

📢 Mob of all ages and backgrounds, we want you!

North Western Melbourne PHN has engaged VAHS to help gain insight for their Health Needs Assessment, to find out more about Mob experience with accessing community health services, and help advise changes for improved health outcomes for Community ✍️

To do so, we invite First Nations men, women, young people, Elders and LGBTIQA+ people to attend one of the upcoming six sessions in your area to yarn with us on how we can improve health systems and policies to influence better health and wellbeing.

Sessions are strictly capped at 10 participants each and each participant will receive a $100 Visa card for their time and invaluable input 💳

To register, head to the link in the comments 🔗

VAHS is deeply concerned with the Victorian Government's decision to renege on the promise to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years old.

The social and emotional impacts the over-incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples can be catastrophic, and cause intergenerational trauma.

Our kids need dedicated, holistic legal and health services, not to be locked up behind bars.

We hope the Victorian Government will listen to Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service - VALS and other Mob voices to reconsider this decision.

📢 Mob of all ages and backgrounds, we want you!

North Western Melbourne PHN has engaged VAHS to help gain insight for their Health Needs Assessment, to find out more about Mob experience with accessing community health services, and help advise changes for improved health outcomes for Community ✍️

To do so, we invite First Nations men, women, young people, Elders and LGBTIQA+ people to attend one of the upcoming six sessions in your area to yarn with us on how we can improve health systems and policies to influence better health and wellbeing.

Sessions are strictly capped at 10 participants each and each participant will receive a $100 Visa card for their time and invaluable input 💳

To register, head to the link in the comments 🔗

We are so proud of the programs VAHS offers across many areas of health 🫶🏿

For today’s Meet Us Monday, we’re yarning with someone from one of these programs, the “Stronger Together” outreach program 🫱🏾‍🫲🏿

Name and job title: Barbara Nieto, Balit Djerring Mental Health Clinician (Youth Counselling) 🧑‍⚕️

Which clinic do you work at?: I work at the VAHS Preston clinic 🏥

How long have you been at VAHS?: I have been here just over eight months.

What do you do in your role at VAHS?: I offer counselling sessions to young people referred to the Balit Djerring program. The Balit Djerring, or program is a drug, alcohol and mental health outreach program, which provides support and advocacy for Aboriginal people and their families accessing treatment in relation to substance use and care pathways for high risk and high need clients.

What health advice from Balit Djerring do you have for Mob?: Healing and growth processes take time, and are not linear, they look more like a spiral. When it seems you are going backwards or experiencing setbacks, you may actually be going forward. Remember to be gentle with yourself, self-compassion can be helpful through the process 🙏

Au revoir, Paris! 🇫🇷

Congratulations to all the Mob who represented Australian Olympic Team at the Paris Olympics. We are incredibly proud of everyone who demonstrated blak excellence at the highest sporting level 🖤💛❤️

Highlights include -

🏐 Proud Deadly Choices ambassador Taliqua Clancy came 4th in the beach volleyball bronze medal match

🏉 Maurice Longbottom part of the 4th placed rugby sevens team in the bronze medal match, which was the Australia Sevens' highest ever Olympic result

🏑 Brooke Peris and Mariah Williams, part of the 5th place Hockeyroos team, which lost just one match in its Paris 2024 campaign

🏀 Ally Wilson, 5th as part of the Australian Gangurrus first ever Olympic 3x3 basketball team

🏃‍♂️ Calab Law was a member of the Athletics Australia 6th place 4x100m relay team, which broke the Australian record, running in 38.17 seconds and missing the Olympic final by just 0.05 seconds

🏀 Fellow Deadly Choices ambassador Patty Mills helped the Australian Boomers finish 6th in the basketball, going out in the quarter finals

🏊‍♀️ Abbey Connor, the 19-year-old Australian Dolphins Swim Team member finished 7th in the women’s 200m butterfly

⛵ Conor Nicholas placed 9th in the mixed dingy sailing event for the Australian Sailing Team

🥊 Marissa Williamson Pohlman qualified in the preliminaries of the women’s boxing, while Callum Peters bowed out in the pool stages, following what was labelled a controversial call.

We can’t wait to see who will be back in LA! 🇺🇸

Today is the United Nations International Day of World's Indigenous Peoples 🌏

As the world's oldest surviving culture, we are proud to celebrate this day to promote the protection of rights and respect for cultures and traditions of Indigenous peoples from across the globe 🪃

This day is also an opportunity to address the social, economic and political marginalisation many Indigenous cultures face, and fight for change ✊🏿

To our Mob, and all of the Indigenous communities around the world, thank you for your strength and resilience to keep tens of thousands of years of cultures, traditions and languages alive 🖤💛❤️

❗VAHS Preston will again not be taking walk ins today, 8 August. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Those with existing appointments will still be able to attend the clinic, and security will be on-site to assist you🏥

VAHS Fitzroy, South Morang and St Albans are still open, as is our helpline Yarning Safe N Strong - 1800 959 563. For medical emergencies, call 000 immediately ☎

❗️VAHS Preston will not be taking walk-in appointments today, 6 August. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

🗓️ Patients with existing appointments booked today will still be able to attend and security will be on site to let you in.

VAHS Fitzroy, South Morang and St Albans are open as normal. Other available resources include -

☎ Yarning Safe N Strong - 1800 959 563
☎ Lifeline - 13 11 14

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 000 immediately 🚑

Tooth fairies on tour! 🧚🏿

This Dental Health Week, the VAHS dental van will be heading to our South Morang, Preston and Fitzroy clinics for walk-in dental screenings 🦷

There will be two clinicians on site so while places are limited, we will endeavour to see everyone who attends and hope to see you there 👩‍⚕️

Oral health is very important to your overall health, preventing decay, infections and disease. This is why VAHS is here this Dental Health Week and always to help Mob keep on top of their dental health 🍎