MIRRI Mirri education director Paul Sinclair is on a mission to make a difference and boost local service provider accessibility in Moree to Aboriginal people with disability.
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“There is a whole range of reasons why Aboriginal people with disability may not be able to access a service provider,” Mr Sinclair said.
“In a lot of cases in regional communities, Aboriginal people live on the outskirts of town. A lack of public transport services can make it difficult for them to access services such as a doctor’s appointment.”
The Armidale-born man has been travelling around NSW to places such as Tweed Heads and Wollongong, to help break down barriers and obstacles that may exist between service providers and Aboriginal people with disability.
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Representatives from St Vincent De Paul, Baabayn, Kiranari Community Services and Moree Community Library met Mr Sinclair at the Moree Services Club on Monday to take part in “Pathways: Creating Opportunity for Aboriginal People with Disability”.
Mr Sinclair pointed out that many barriers stem from a lack of understanding about Aboriginal culture.
“Some people still don’t know the difference between a Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country.
“Only an elder of that particular Aboriginal nation, or a person who has received the blessing of an elder, is allowed to lead the Welcome to Country. Anybody else, can only hold an Acknowledgement of Country.”
He said the lack of understanding of culture can set up many more barriers.
“Some non-Aboriginal people might not be used to working with an Aboriginal person, and so they use a very clinical tone. Often, an Aboriginal person will look for employment at a place where another Aboriginal person works, because they would feel more comfortable in that environment.”
The sense of unity in the workforce travels over to the structure of the community, which Mr Sinclair explained is tight-knit.
“Another topic we discussed at the workshop was kinship. A person with disability is more likely to be cared for in the extended family, which is how the family has been culturally brought up.”
While it was a display of a sacred bond, Mr Sinclair said it could further add to the difficulty of access to main service providers.
“They might be less aware of the support structures available, which reduces the chances of accessing health services. An aunty or cousin might also be working at a local health service, and the patient might feel too embarrassed to get help at the service because they know the people working there.”
Mr Sinclair said he was pleased to see service providers at Moree had already taken steps to break down the barriers.
“They understand the challenges in the town and people are working together to create some good strategies.”
He added St Vincent De Paul had shown an interest to boost the number of Aboriginal volunteers at their store.
“The workshop is over, but Mirri Mirri will now work with the main service providers and help them to achieve their plans.”
