CHAA updates

In May, CHAA continued to strengthen community engagement and support through a range of targeted initiatives. We piloted our Training Bites sessions with natural helpers from several of our PODs, offering accessible, skills-based learning opportunities grounded in lived experience. Our three weekly HUB meetings provided consistent spaces for connection, updates, and collaborative planning across teams and community stakeholders. We partnered with Broken to Brilliant to deliver the Legal Laureates program, offering a free legal advice workshop to individuals impacted by domestic and family violence (DFV).

A new PODs launched this month—Bint Al Neel-Daughter of the Nile Group, focusing on African and multicultural women. The group has been founded to reduce isolation and empower migrant women, and offers cultural events, wellbeing workshops, and skills development in areas like digital literacy, employment, parenting, and financial literacy.

We are also in the development stage of two other PODs which are a Men’s Foster and Kinship Carer group, aimed at supporting male carers through community engagement and peer connection and a Foster and Kinship Care Playgroup which will bring carers and their children together through connection, support and positive learning opportunities.

Planning has been taking place with Change Futures for the delivery of Peer Skills training with selected natural helpers to enhance their ability to support others in their communities.

Inala Community House (ICH) commenced a new playgroup for mums and bubs called Happy Hearts, responding to the community’s need for more opportunities for mums to join together with other mums and support one another on their parenting journey.

Our Men’s Group – SECUR joined as a CHAA POD this month. Our ICH Men’s Group is open to all men in our community. It provides an opportunity for men to connect and build Strength, Empathy, Compassion, Understanding and Respect for themselves, their families and their communities.

Our Village CHAAter (ie working agreement) is being developed providing clarity for HUB members and their supporting organisations on the roles and expectations for being on the HUB. We started supporting our POD facilitators/peace builders to plan how they can bring their PODS on the journey of CHAA. We continue to talk with interested organisations and individuals about what role they may wish to play in CHAA. Our website is developed and goes live.

Our HUB membership is taking shape and we identified our first three PODS. Our Core Group continues to meet to provide direction for the project.

We held two co-design workshops with potential HUB members with over 15 organizations participating. Together we are working through and developing a shared vision of how CHAA will work in our communities. This includes how the HUB communicates and supports PODs and the tools and approaches that POD Facilitators/Peace Builders may need to support their PODS on this journey towards community healing and accountability. Paramount is supporting survivors to heal by elevating and being led by their voice, safety for all and the need to think and act creatively.

CHAA hosted a community engagement workshop which was attended by 30 participants from 18 different services/communities. From here we called for people to express an interest in being a part of the collectivist HUB.