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D'Mello, Zane --- "Profile of the Geraldton Resource Centre" [2003] IndigLawB 15; (2003) 5(23) Indigenous Law Bulletin 8

Profile of the Geraldton Resource Centre

by Zane D’Mello

The Geraldton Resource Centre (‘GRC’) is a mainstream non-profit corporation providing an array of legal and paralegal services. The main areas of focus include a community legal centre, financial counselling and emergency relief, tenancy assistance for people experiencing disadvantage, and personal social support for frail, aged and disabled people. The core principles of the GRC are based on community development and capacity building agendas. The core strength of our organisation has been our ability to transfer these principles into tangible practices in our service delivery and organisational culture.

These services are delivered in a range of regional, rural and remote communities in the Mid West and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia. Covering an area of approximately 30 square kilometres, and a population of 30,000 in Geraldton and 40,000 in the region, service providers travel to communities on a regular basis to directly deliver services.

A focus on assisting Aboriginal people has been developed in recognition of the well researched levels of disadvantage suffered by this section of the community on a nation wide scale. As such, several local Aboriginal people occupy crucial staff positions within the organisation. This simple strategy has resulted in radically improved access to all services. A commitment to developing people internally through a partnership with the local Community Development Employment Program has resulted in employment at the GRC for the majority of the staff members.

Nyarlu Miyarnumalgu (Indigenous Women’s Legal Outreach Service) has been specifically developed to increase access to the law for this priority group. This service was opened in 1998.

People

As can be expected in a region this size, there are often considerable differences in the make-up of the local population. There are numerous family groupings that are traditional landowners in the region, and also a significant population of transient and dislocated residents, both in the regional centre of Geraldton and in outlying communities.

Many of the traditional cultural practices have been lost, and there is significant evidence of the impact of urbanisation amongst this section of our community. However, there are several strong initiatives active in addressing this issue in our area.

Land rights continue to be a key issue of concern, as do several other areas of generic concern for Indigenous cultures around the world. Housing, education, law, health, access to services, violence and substance abuse are all areas where this disadvantage is evident.

Local populations are deeply concerned with developing a more inclusive community for Indigenous youth, and much time is devoted toward initiatives attempting to address this concern within our Indigenous organisations.

Legal Issues

Key legal issues are influenced by an imposed legal system that often clashes with cultural practices and values. This is particularly evident in the area of family law. Recent government initiatives have centred on the prevention of family violence and alcohol and substance abuse.

Also of key concern is a three strikes law that impacts disproportionately upon the Aboriginal community. This is a fundamental element impacting upon the human rights of those most disadvantaged in our community. There are documented examples of deaths in custody resulting from this process in other Australian states and territories. To date the law remains in place in Western Australia.

Due to the remoteness of much of the client group the issues dealt with through GRC are often complex involving family law, tenancy and financial counselling. Obtaining an outcome is time consuming and extends over a period of months in many cases.

Initiatives and Projects

A key initiative currently being undertaken by GRC is the development of a mentoring partnership with members of our network based on knowledge management. These members comprise trusted community representatives located in the areas impacted by our outreach services. This mentoring has been piloted over a period of years internally at GRC with an array of staff members and volunteers.

In recognition of local expertise and relationships that in most case have been developed over many years, GRC works through these people to access the client group rather than transport a service model that may not be appropriate, or attempt to redirect the trust relationship. Network members work in a variety of local organisations, and in some cases are not attached to any organisation but are looked to for support by local people.

An accredited paralegal course is being developed that will skill network members in assessing needs and providing information and referrals to existing services. This course will be delivered free of charge. The relationship between outreach worker and network member will be based on the development of mutual professional respect. Respect for the local knowledge and communication ability of the network member, and respect for the professional knowledge of the outreach worker. The course will be delivered according to the learning method of the student and based on identified community demand for knowledge. The qualification often recognises the role that these network members have delivered in their community over extended periods. The transfer of knowledge that takes place brings awareness of existing resources closer to the community. This approach allows for local determination of management of social issues, and builds capacity to pull in appropriate expertise as a tool rather than the development of reliance on a service not locally driven.

Another successful project running at GRC is the Training Alliance Manager partnership with Central West College of TAFE. Essentially a human resources development plan that underpins the GRC strategic plan is implemented by a nominated TAFE professional working within GRC. Consultancy and training are identified and delivered at GRC by a range of experts drawn into GRC from the TAFE in areas determined by GRC. The project has not only facilitated the professional development of GRC staff, but led to a state wide impact on other similar services that are being held up as best practice across Australia.

Training in information technology, quality service, critical incidents and qualifying a number of workplace trainers to deliver the paralegal course has taken place over a period of ten months.

Challenges

As a small agency a key challenge for the future will be the successful integration of technological supports to underpin and enhance face to face service delivery. GRC has attracted resources to conduct video conferencing with specialists in capital cities, and link into existing facilities in small, rural and remote communities. Apart from the delivery of services and training in legal and paralegal issues, an additional role will be to increase acceptance of this mode of delivery as a means of dealing with immediate crises where specialist expertise is required. There is significant work to be carried out here as communications in regional, rural and remote locations is far behind metropolitan standards. However, this tool will play a large part in eliminating isolation from information in the future.

Attracting professionals to work outside metropolitan areas has always been a key challenge in our field and this will continue in the future. Our solution both internally and within our networks is to utilise paralegal expertise, mentored and underpinned by these professionals. Leveraging years of knowledge and expertise so that it can be transformed into locally held intellectual capital requires a key paradigm shift, but it is crucial to the development of quality service delivery. Not only must we attract the best possible professionals, but those who subscribe to the values held at GRC that locals must be empowered to solve their problems rather than becoming unnecessarily reliant on outside intervention. The development of this relationship will increase consistency of the outreach services and local services delivered by GRC.

Zane D’Mello is the coordinator of the Geraldton Resource Centre. Zane is about to graduate with a masters degree in business administration from the University of Western Sydney. He has previously been employed as a youth worker with the Geraldton Streetwork Aboriginal Corporation.

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