Drawing competition to celebrate families

Relationships Australia NT will hold a drawing competition to celebrate National Families Week from today, Thursday 15 to Friday 30 May. 

Local Territory kids need to draw a picture of their family to go in the running to win one of three family photography vouchers with InFocus Photography, NT Thunder game passes, a Nitmiluk Katherine Gorge Family Tour pass and more. 

Relationships Australia NT CEO Marie Morrison said the theme for this year’s Families Week is “Stronger Families, Stronger Communities”. 

“The competition is a wonderful way to celebrate family and build acceptance, tolerance and respect for how families are now composed and function,” Ms Morrison said. 

“We’ve held the competition for several years now and seen the diversity of family structure and culture reflected in local children’s drawings. 

“Almost 30% of the Territory’s population is Aboriginal or Islander. In terms of ethnic backgrounds there are more than 100 different migrant groups. Many different family structures are represented including single parent families, step-families, same sex couples with children and extended families.  Children are often raised by grandparents and many parents are not necessarily married. All of this diversity is reflected and celebrated in the children’s drawings.” 

“We help and provide assistance to families in various ways including strengthening relationships, mediation, counselling and support for people going through difficult times,” Ms Morrison said. 

“We also offer specialist services for migrant families and work with a team of Aboriginal liaison officers in remote communities, with offices in Alice Springs, Katherine and Darwin, and services in Tennant Creek and the Tiwi Islands.” 

The Relationships Australia NT Families Week Drawing Competition runs until 30 May with the winner announced on Friday 6 June. 

Entries are available from Relationships Australia NT Offices and Palmerston, Karama, Casuarina and Katherine libraries. 

Relationships Australia NT thanks its competition partners InFocus Photography, Nitmiluk Gorge Tours, Crocosaurus Cove, NT Thunder, Territory Wildlife Park, Jumping Crocs, The Darwin Waterfront, Hog’s Breath Café, Leighton Contractors and McDonalds. 

For more information and the full list of prizes please visit www.nt.relationships.org.au/ or follow ‘Relationships Australia Northern Territory’ on Facebook.

Get to know your neighbours and live longer

Do you know your neighbours or the people living across the street? What about the people that you share the work elevator with?

This Sunday 30 March marks national Neighbour Day and the coming together of neighbours and people who’ve never met.  

“It’s about connecting with the people around us and fostering a sense of community,” Relationships Australia NT CEO Marie Morrison said.

“We all lead busy lives and have precious spare time, but Neighbour Day reminds us to pause, look around and get to know the people next door or in the same street.”

Ms Morrison said getting to know your neighbours isn’t only the foundation of a healthy community, but it will make you happier and help you live longer.

“Evidence says that connecting with your neighbours increases your happiness and longevity,” Ms Morrison said.

“For example, a study by Duke University in the USA found that people aged 55 to 80 who trusted their neighbours lived longer on average over the next 14 years than those who didn’t.

“Other studies have found that interacting with your neighbours lifts your mood, reduces your stress and instils a sense of belonging.

“The better you get to know your neighbours the more likely you are to trust them and the more you stand to gain in health and wellbeing.”

Relationships Australia said it’s holding a morning tea with Neighbour Day Ambassador and Darwin Lord Mayor Katrina Fong Lim for the businesses at 43 Cavenagh St on Wednesday, 26 March.

The community service organisation is also encouraging all locals to get behind the cause.

“Why not hold a BBQ, say a simple hello or head to one of the publicly registered morning teas and barbeques in your area,” Ms Morrison said.

Neighbour Day public events in your area on Sunday 30 March:

·         Jonathan Pilbrow BBQ, Larapinta. Connect with ‘Friends of Larapinta’ Facebook group

·         Kylie Adams BBQ, Sadadeen

·         Allan Mitchell BBQ, Anula 

·         Alice Springs Town Council BBQ, Frank McEllister Community Park, 10am to 2pm

Please call Relationships Australia and ask for Tracey for all the details on 8923 4926 or visit www.nt.relationships.org.au/

For media enquiries please contact Domonique Young on 8941 9169 or email domonique@creativeterritory.com. 

Get to know your Neighbours this March

Relationships Australia NT is encouraging Territorians to get to know the people around them and living in their street this Neighbour Day.

Neighbour Day is an annual celebration of community held on the last Sunday of March, falling on Sunday 30 March this year.

The Day was founded by Australia Day Ambassador Andrew Heslop in 2003 after the lonely death of Mrs Elise Brown, who was left unfound by family, neighbours and friends for up two years after passing away in her home.

“Neighbour Day is a timely reminder for us all to get know the people living next door, across the street or working in the same building,” Relationships Australia NT CEO Marie Morrison said.

“We can’t underestimate the value of community and a simple hello.

“As we age and build online communities, our connections with the people around us are lessening.

“On this Neighbour Day make sure you take the opportunity to say hi to your neighbours, host a get together for the people in your street or offer to give one of them a hand with something.”

Relationships Australia was handed the baton from Andew Heslop on 1 January 2014 to grow and manage Neighbour Day in Australia after a national expression of interest process late last year.

“We plan to build upon the strong legacy of Mr Heslop, who has carefully grown and developed this wonderful event over the past ten years,” Ms Morrison said.

“Relationships Australia shares the vision and values of Neighbour Day and firmly believes that our communities are only as strong as the people who live in them.

“Helping individuals, couples and families build stronger relationships has been the fundamental aim of Relationships Australia for 60 years.”

Darwin Lord Mayor Katrina Fong Lim and local Alice Springs resident Jonathan Pilbrow will help spread the message of Neighbour Day in the NT after signing on as Ambassadors.

Mr Pilbrow, a long-term  social worker and Territorian, said he will celebrate Neighbour Day with an open barbeque in his front yard.

“Neighbour Day is important because it encourages neighbours to take a break from their busy lives, and take the time to connect and reconnect, with each other," Mr Pilbrow said.

"I think that good neighbours and good neighbourhoods are one of the keys for a healthy and happy society.

“Good neighbourhoods can help break down social isolation, and improve public safety, with people keeping an eye out for each other, and they can also help to address local issues and problems."

Mr Pilbrow and others have been hosting fortnightly get-togethers with friends and people that haven’t yet met, in Larapinta Park since 2012 and more recently added a street Christmas Party.

People can connect with Jonathan on the ‘Friends of Larapinta’ Facebook group.

For more information on Neighbour Day visit www.nt.relationships.org.au or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

New book tells tales of Relationships Australia’s beginning in the NT

Relationships Australian NT is a service that Territorians can depend on in trying times, yet a new book chronicling its 40 year history shows it too was lucky to survive Cyclone Tracy.

 In 1977 Secretary Alan Schreiber accounts, ‘The Darwin Marriage Guidance Council has gone through a very difficult and trying year. By about the middle of the year we lost the services of our Director, who was our only counsellor. The only lay counsellors that had served us, all left after the cyclone. After repeated and very costly advertising for a replacement, all applicants were found unsuitable.’

 The tale of the organisation’s recovery and other trials and tribulations will be unveiled at the launch of A history of Relationships Australia Northern Territory on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary on Monday 21 October.  

 Researched and authored by local historian Mickey Dewar, the book accounts for the organisation’s beginning in 1973 when it was deemed ‘the needs of the Northern Territory population at that time were so urgent that the normal requirement for a state council to self-fund for the first few years of operation were waived’.

 "In the beginning, the Marriage Guidance Council was an organisation which sought to provide advice and counsel for married couples living in Darwin who were separating,” Ms Dewar said.

 “Forty years later it is now a reflexive, multi-faceted support service providing assistance to the people of the Northern Territory across diverse areas of social need. This book is the story of how these changes took place.”  

 Renamed in 1995, Relationships Australia NT today has a broader emphasis on helping children and families in need and working with disadvantaged people.

 “We provide assistance to families in various ways including strengthening relationships, mediation, counselling and support for people going through difficult times,” Relationships Australia NT Marie Morrison said.

 “We also provide specialised services such as professional development and training through formal and informal courses, partnerships and community based programs for migrants and refugees, and culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal families, delivered by Aboriginal staff members.

 “Increasingly we’re also working with young people and have programs to divert them away from crime and disadvantage, through restorative justice community programs.”

 The launch of A history of Relationships Australia Northern Territory on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary will be held at Relationships Australia NT, ground floor 43 Cavenagh Street on Monday 21 October at 5:30pm, preceded by the organisation’s AGM.

 The public are invited to attend with light refreshments and canapés available. Please call to RSVP on call 8923 4999.

 For more information please visit www.nt.relationships.org.au.

 

Aboriginal Territorians who were abused encouraged to access support service

With the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses in Child Sexual Abuse due in Darwin in two weeks, Relationships Australia NT said it’s important Aboriginal Territorians aren’t forgotten.

The organisation says that many of the victims, survivors and people affected by institutional childhood abuse in the Territory are Aboriginal and Islander peoples.

“We have Indigenous advisors, cultural consultants and Aboriginal family workers who can, where appropriate, work with Aboriginal people who were abused in coming forward to give evidence,” Ms Morrison said.

“But we also want people to know that we are here for them whether or not they choose to share their story with the Commission.

“We can answer any questions about the process, be a friendly and supportive ear and also help those who want to tell their story.”

Relationships Australia NT was the only NT support service to be given Federal funding to support victims presenting at the Royal Commission.

Know More was funded to provide legal support across Australia, while the Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Association (NAAJA) will provide community education in the Top End.

Relationships Australia NT is meeting and working with these agencies and others, including Aboriginal services to ensure the most culturally sensitive and appropriate response.

Ms Morrison said Relationship Australia NT’s services are free to victims, survivors and people affected by childhood institutional abuse.

“Our staff will be there for people before, during and after the Commission,” she said.

“On the Tiwi Islands alone, including Nguiu, Milikapiti and Pirlingimpi, we have a qualified counsellor and three Aboriginal staff who can talk with people.

“People who live more than 50Km away from where they are scheduled to share their experiences in a private sitting can also apply to the Commission to assist with their  travel and accommodation costs.”

The Royal Commission will be in Darwin on Tuesday 15 October as part of its national tour to hear from victims and survivors of institutional childhood sexual abuse.

Territorians who want to present their story to the Commission are required to register their interest via www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au  but Ms Morrison said her staff can help people through this process.

To contact Relationships Australia NT for more information or support please visit www.nt.relationships.org.au or call 1300 364 277.

Sex abuse victims told to seek support

Territorians affected by childhood sexual abuse are encouraged to connect with Relationships Australia NT ahead of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses in Child Sexual Abuse, which comes to Darwin on Tuesday 15 October for the first round of private hearings.

The Commission, which started in Western Australia last month and held the first public hearing was in Sydney this week, will be in town to hear from victims and survivors in private sessions over several days.

 Relationships Australia NT CEO Marie Morrison said the organisation can support anyone who has experienced institutional childhood sexual abuse including people who wish to share their story with the Commission.

“It can be a very emotional, challenging and confronting experience for people to talk about what happened to them,” Ms Morrison said.

“We have been counselling in the Territory for 40 years and worked with many people affected by childhood sexual abuse and abuse experienced in a variety of intuitional settings.  

“Our counsellors are available to help victims explore and collate their story, provide referrals where appropriate and in addition we can provide appropriate liaison through our Aboriginal advisors.”

During the private sessions, people will have one hour to present their story to one or two commissioners in a confidential and informal setting.

Ms Morrison said a high number of those sexually abused as children in the Northern Territory are Aboriginal and/or living in remote Territory communities.

“Where appropriate our Indigenous advisors, cultural consultants and Aboriginal family workers assist in connecting counsellors with victims,” she said.

“On the Tiwi Islands alone, including Nguiu, Milikapiti and Pirlingimpi, we have a qualified counsellor and three Aboriginal staff who will help those who were abused in coming forward to give evidence.”

Relationships Australia NT was awarded $650 000 in funding over the next three years by the federal government to support survivors of childhood sexual abuse that will take part in the Commission.

It was the only support service for victims presenting at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses in Child Sexual Abuse to be funded in the Northern Territory.

“Our staff will be there for people before, during and after the Commission,” Ms Morrison said.

Territorians who want to present their story to the Commission are required to register their interest via www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au  but Ms Morrison said her staff can help victims through this process.

To contact Relationships Australia NT for more information or support please visit www.nt.relationships.org.au or call 1300 364 277.