Creating a nurturing and supportive environment for young Aboriginal people was the driving force that led new Male Aboriginal Project Officer Thomas Betts to join the Embrace @ The Kids Research Institute Australia childhood trauma research group.
Thomas was welcomed to the Institute in late October to work on a new collaborative project titled Building a Culturally Safe Mental Health System for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Young People (Cultural Safety Project).
“I was not even looking for work but the opportunity came up and I saw it,” Thomas said.
“I was wanting to use my knowledge and experience and also expand on that – I don’t have a research background, so I wanted to learn new skills and develop. It felt like it fit perfectly.”
“I’ve got an interest in mental health, not only as an Aboriginal person for the project itself, but as an Aboriginal person and as a foster carer. I foster my nieces and nephews – I feel like I have a vested interest in what the project sets out to do and deliver.”
It’s so important we are caring for young people. Really nurturing our young people to set them up for the future is one of my priorities in life – it also aligned with my experience growing up and through my work.
Before joining the team, Thomas’ work involved supporting young people doing traineeships.
“One of the prevalent issues that came up were young people dealing with mental health and not having access or appropriate services for them to access,” he said.
With support from his colleagues, Thomas realised the impact he could have for those same young people by lending his expertise and training to the Cultural Safety Project.
“Prior to my employment I did a Cert III in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander primary health care, so always had an interest in health. This feels like I’m coming back full circle into something I’ve always been interested in,” he said.
The Cultural Safety Project, which is funded by a 2022 Medical Research Future Fund grant, will investigate the cultural safety of mental health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth.
It is led by Aboriginal researchers, including Embrace Co-Director Professor Helen Milroy, and comprises an Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal team, who work closely with Aboriginal services providers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in mental health and suicide prevention.
The project will identify the requirements of cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and their families. It is hoped that the findings of this project will transform the existing mental health system for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth and reduce mental health issues among this group.
Embrace is supported by principal partner Rio Tinto.
“Now 3 weeks in – I feel like I know what I bring to the table – I’m really excited about expanding those relationships with community and specifically to our project, connecting community to The Kids Research Institute Australia and to the work that we’re doing,” Thomas said.
“We’re planting the seeds for the future.”
Project Officer Thomas Betts says it is vital we nurture our young people.