Various services to support people in or transitioning from detention

The Yarrabi Bamirr, Empowering Yarning Circles and Throughcare Support programs work across multiple needs, including responding to domestic and family violence.

Yarrabi Bamirr provides a family-centric model of support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families to reduce or prevent contact with the justice system and as a consequence, improve life outcomes. The criteria for families to be accepted into the program are that they have children, high and complex needs and contact with the justice system. The program creates a Family Plan with long, medium and short-term goals supplemented by family brokerage funding. It is provided by Clybucca Dreaming; Yeddung Mura and Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services (Winnunga refer to this service as Justice Reinvestment).

Empowering Yarning Circles is a series of yarning circles that focus on enabling ex-detainees to stay in the community and rebuild their lives. The program supports re-stablishing links to community and culture, restoring relationships with family, friends and peers and supporting and enabling clients to manage their own lives. Yarning Circles are weekly and engage First Nations participants to build capacity to manage daily life and reconnect to Community by reducing the risk of recidivism through integrated case management and community support. Yarning Circles are provided as flexible sessions and can be for men or women only, with the support of Elders and community services. The Yarning Circles focus on different areas of a person’s life, such as trauma informed support and personal skills, motivation and leadership, anger management, self-awareness, and relapse prevention. Empowerment Yarning Circles are delivered by Yeddung Mura.

Throughcare Support is a client-centred program designed to enable Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients to succeed on their journey from prison to living sustainably back in the community. The program operates in collaboration with the ACT Corrective Services (ACTCS) Throughcare Unit to provide individualised and intensive case management and trauma informed support. Throughcare assists a detainee’s transition back to living in community through provision needs such as mobile phones, medicine, identification documents and assistance with services such as housing, Centrelink and other providers and programs. Throughcare support is delivered by Yeddung Mura.

ACTCS have established external reporting sites with Yeddung Mura, Winnunga Nimmitiyah and the Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy. This model provides culturally safe reporting sites for eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders with reporting requirements in their community corrections orders. The program also offers connection to culturally appropriate support services. These services can be accessed by offenders who may be victims or perpetrators of family, domestic and sexual violence.

Through the supports of the Women’s Reintegration Case Manager at the Alexander Maconochie Centre, victim survivors are assisted to engage in safety planning sessions and offered support to apply for family violence orders, victim impact statements and financial supports through the Victim of Crimes financial assistance scheme. Victim survivors can access additional supports from the Domestic Violence Crisis Service and the Women’s Health Service for trauma counselling while in custody along with a range of other supports.

ACTCS also provides targeted interventions and rehabilitation programs aimed at changing these harmful behaviours enacted by male perpetrators who are under our community supervision or in our custody.

Clybucca Dreaming deliver the Women’s Outreach Program that builds community for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who were former detainees of the Alexander Maconochie Centre and have experienced domestic and family violence.