Did you know that around one-third of Indigenous Australians have eyesight problems, and 43% have hearing loss? Like Deafblind people, Aboriginal people may not easily engage easily with mainstream health services, and can lack access to health information. VACCHO is health organisation controlled by Aboriginal people, so it’s a culturally safe space where Aboriginal people get information and support. We were thrilled when Noela Prasad from VACCHO asked DBV to provide Deafblind Awareness training to their staff during Deafblind Awareness Week.
We held the workshop on 26th June at their offices in Collingwood. 18 staff members participated and learned a lot about us and about deafblindness. We will run another workshop soon for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at a community space in Fitzroy. We felt really welcomed and comfortable with the VACCHO team. We hope that this will help them provide better services to any deafblind Aboriginal people and connect them with DBV and our Deafblind community. We look forward to the next workshop! See below for a video and photos.
