Aboriginal Services

Highlands Community Centres Aboriginal Services was formally established in 2020 with funding from the Department of Communities & Justice Targeted Earlier Intervention program granted until 2025.

Our Aboriginal Community Worker is based at Stafford Cottage from Tuesday to Friday each week, providing support and assisted referral to relevant services for Aboriginal children, young people and families. This can involve working with clients who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, clients who are experiencing domestic or family violence, housing issues, family and relationship problems, legal problems, financial crises and other social issues.

HCC Aboriginal Services offers the following programs:

Women's Yarning Circle is for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to yarn, connect with culture, country and community. We gather on the last Friday of the month from 10am - 2pm at the Wingecarribee Aboriginal Community Centre on Rainbow Road, Mittagong. Women can come for the duration or drop in to say hi. Morning tea and lunch are provided. Art materials are free if women wish to create something.

Cultural Connections for Families is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. The program runs four times a year with activities such as a cultural family day or a variety of workshops.

The Aboriginal Community Worker attends the Dhungung (Food) Share at the Wingecarribee Aboriginal Cultural Centre at 1a Rainbow Road, Mittagong every Thursday from 10.30am - 12pm. To register for a food package, text or call Corinne at Wingecarribee Shire Council on 0418 649 106. When registering please advise how many adults and/or children are in your home. You will receive a text message on a Wednesday to ask if you would like a food package. Please note the pick-up time is between 10am - 11:15am. Bring your bags plus a cooler bag if you would like frozen food or if meat (if available on the day). No frozen food or meat will be given without a cooler/freezer bag. If there are any concerns or issues please contact Lisa.For further information on any of these programs or to discuss other opportunities, please contact Lisa Fuller on 0498 075 198 or [email protected].

Latest

Assertive Communication

Assertive communication is about being able to express your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and opinions in a way that is authentic to you but doesn’t violate the rights of others.
My Life My Dreams 2023

At the end of June 2023, a group of women completed the My Life My Dreams program. Each Tuesday for thirteen weeks the women came together to learn more about themselves, each other and services available to them in the community.
Improving self esteem

Self esteem is the way we think and view ourselves, for example, we might say, “I am a good person”. Some other ways of saying it are self worth, self respect, self love or self confidence. Low self esteem can impact on all areas of a person’s life – their work, their relationships with family and friends and even what they do for fun – they might not have enough confidence to something they would enjoy.
Walking is so good for you!

There is a lot of research that suggests that walking is good for mental health – and can be as effective as anti depressants for depression. One of the best things about walking is it free, doesn’t require any special equipment and can be done by anybody, anywhere, anytime. Walking is an easy way to get active, to be in the fresh air and take some deep breaths.