SMART Recovery Australia received a small grant from the Andrews Foundation to train people in the Gippsland area of Victoria to become facilitators of the SMART Recovery addiction support programme.
The aim was to give more support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this area having problems with addictive behaviours.
A two-day training session was held at Morwell in February 2014. Ten people attended the training from four different agencies – Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Cooperative, La Trobe Community Health Centre, Nindedana Quarenook and Wulgunggo Ngalu Learning Place.
The training was run by Josette Freeman, SMART Recovery Australia’s National Program Coordinator, in collaboration with Aboriginal Team Leader and Drug and Alcohol Specialist, Jody Lloyd – who had already been trained in the SMART Recovery programme.
What we achieved
Wulgunggo Ngalu Learning Centre, which runs programmes complementing life skills and cultural learning experiences, as well as being a place where Aboriginal men can go as part of their Community Corrections Order, has now incorporated SMART Recovery into their programmes.
Wulgunggo Ngalu Learning Centre now teaches cognitive behavioural tools and techniques to the men in the area in order for them to gain control over their addictive behaviours and plan for a healthier future.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander SMART Recovery Handbook
Added to the Project was the development, writing and printing of a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander SMART Recovery Handbook. This was created in collaboration and consultation with Aboriginal Team Leader, Jody Lloyd, as well as Aboriginal artist Jasmine Sarin, from JS Koori Designs.
This has been very helpful to group participants as it is easy to follow and culturally appropriate. It can be used during the group or as a reference point.
Having this manual has not just helped the Aboriginal groups in Victoria but throughout Australia – and will continue to do so as SMART Recovery grows across the nation.
The reasoning for developing a specific Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander SMART Recovery Handbook was to ensure the programme was effectively accessible to those participating and receiving the information. This was deemed vital as better comprehension and sentiment for the programme and its tools and teachings will greatly improve its effectiveness in helping people successfully manage their addictive behaviours.
The Vision of SMART Recovery Australia is to ensure that SMART Recovery Programme is accessible to all Australians – regardless of their location, race, religion or situation.
SMART Recovery Australia in collaboration with Drug and Alcohol Multicultural Education Centre has since created Vietnamese, Arabic versions of the SMART Recovery handbook.
Follow-up work
SMART Recovery Australia returned to Wulgunggo Ngalu at Yarram in June this year to do follow up training.
The SMART Recovery group programme had already commenced and the feedback was favourable from the participants.
This return trip to Yarram coincided with the NIDAC (National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee) Conference in Melbourne, where Freeman and Lloyd did a joint presentation on the Gippsland Project.
The presentation subsequently generated more people wanting to start Aboriginal specific SMART Recovery groups around Australia, including the establishment of an Aboriginal-specific SMART Recovery meeting in Nowra, NSW.
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