Lower Mid North Coast
Highlights this year included the Port Macquarie team celebrating NAIDOC week with a range of
activities. Staff demonstrated their support by wearing T-Shirts for the week which portrayed the
Aboriginal flag. A team discussion was held to explore the concept of white privilege, during which
questions helped us reflect on the unspoken advantages that people had when they were able to
blend in with the dominant culture. This lead to discussions around how Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people were often denied those same privileges. The team participated in the local NAIDOC
Community Day, helping children with art projects which included decorating flags, painting
clapping sticks and body art.
The Lower Mid North Coast region has expanded its Children’s Contact Services and now offers an
outreach service from our Taree site. This has enabled families from the area to have their visits closer
to home and expanded the availability of times when they can meet. Reduced travel times also
mean that families can now meet after school and not just at weekends. A partnership with the local
TAFE has seen the introduction of student placements supporting our regular staff. This has given
local students an opportunity to experience the work that Interrelate does first hand adding to our
pool of potential new recruits.
The Lower Mid North Coast Family Law Pathway Network hosted a successful networking event with
the local Family Court Circuit Judge Myers at our Port Macquarie site. Judge Myers and a range of
local solicitors and other professionals met and viewed first hand where children’s contact visits took
place. This has led to an enhanced relationship with the Judge and has helped clients and staff with
more informed decisions when supervised contact and court ordered attendance at groups take
place.
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From left to right: Port Macquarie Team Celebrating NAIDOC week; Judge Myers visits
Port Macquarie.
The Lower Mid North Coast region assisted 2,084 people this year.