Family and kin are foundational parts of culture and play a key role in holistic wellbeing for First Nations people. Anna’s story illustrates how staying connected to culture can serve as a profound source of strength during challenging times.
Practical and culturally safe support for a new mum
Anna was six months pregnant when she was referred to Launch Housing’s Cornelia Program. Cornelia is an apartment building located in Melbourne’s inner south designed to support women and their babies, and provide wraparound healthcare and social support.
The multidisciplinary team at Cornelia, which consists of workers from Launch Housing and the Royal Women’s Hospital, provided comprehensive support throughout Anna’s pregnancy. These supports included onsite midwifery, help with attending medical appointments, psychological care, practical advice in preparing for the birth of her child, and assistance to aid her in her sobriety journey.
Cornelia actively recognised and supported Anna’s cultural needs during her stay, providing holistic, individualised care that was thoughtfully tailored to her unique cultural needs and circumstances.
“They never judged me. They were always willing to help me out and support me.”
After giving birth and moving out of Cornelia, Anna continued to connect with her Cornelia case workers. They continued to provide parenting advice over regular Zoom calls and referred Anna to support services within her community. These services included Tweedle, a culturally safe and responsive early parenting centre with a skilled team providing a pillar of support for families in the early months and years of parenting.
Keeping families together
During her pregnancy, Anna learned that she was at risk of being separated from her baby at birth. While this experience can be traumatic for any parent, it’s especially traumatic for First Nations Australians, given the brutal history of colonisation, which involved the forced removal and separation of children from their families and communities.
Understanding this context, the Cornelia Program and Aboriginal Support Services fiercely advocated through multiple channels to ensure that Anna and her baby remained together. They were successful and Anna was able to remain and connect with her baby. This connection provided her with the emotional support and sense of responsibility that reinforced her ability to stay engaged with housing services, ensuring both her and her baby’s long-term wellbeing.
“Bonding with my [child] has motivated me to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma. I used to have nothing to lose, now I have everything to lose because of my [child]. This is why I choose to continue my sobriety. My [child] keeps me motivated to be a stable and reliable parent.”
Recognising that strong and healthy family and kin relationships are central to holistic wellbeing for First Nation peoples’ and communities, Anna placed great importance on nurturing a strong bond with her child. She understood that being connected to their culture and kin was vital for her child’s identity. She wanted to ensure that she could create a bond that would not only lay the foundations for their relationship, but also help her child develop a deep connection to their cultural heritage and sense of cultural identity.
“When I was disconnected from culture, I felt I lost a part of myself. My [child] comes from a strong culture and I am raising [them] to feel safe connecting their culture, respecting their culture Lores, and feel connected in their cultural identity and themselves.”
Keeping connection to culture and community
Cornelia offers programs like Wayapa Wurrrk, which is grounding work through body movements to the earth. Anna said the programs at Cornelia “really helped me in connecting to my culture and connecting to everything around me and nature”.
While at Cornelia, Anna was afforded further opportunities to continue her connection to her culture. Anna identified that art was a way in which she used to continue her connection to her culture, and Cornelia supported Anna by providing art supplies. This eased Anna’s mental load, providing her further space to heal. Staff at Cornelia also helped Anna secure long-term housing close to her identified Indigenous supports, networks, and community.
Anna has now exited the Cornelia Program and settled into her property in an area that is close to her community.
“Every single day I wake up and I’m so proud of how far I’ve come, and so proud of the environment I’m raising my [child] in.”
What’s next for Anna?
Anna is a strong, resilient and connected mother, and her child is thriving in her care. Her child is a powerful source of inspiration for her art and continued connection to culture. Anna’s career in the arts is growing from strength to strength. She continues to create commissioned artwork and exhibits her work in various spaces.
Connection to Country continues to be important for Anna. Now settling into her long-term community housing, Anna’s next goal is to purchase property on Country. Anna reflects on how incredible it is that she has gone from being at risk of homelessness to setting herself a goal of owning property on Country.
“I can amount to whatever I put my mind too”, she says proudly.
Launch Housing remains supportive and is excited to see Anna continue to grow from strength to strength.
NB – Anna’s name has been changed.