General News
2 October, 2024
New opportunities grow for Karen community
Local healthcare providers have partnered with Wimmera Southern Mallee (WSM) Development and Werribee organisation Comfort Care Community Services (CCCS) with the aim of helping to connect Karen families to individual aged and disability support, and providing training for those interested in pursuing a career in the field.
WSM Development’s migration and settlement program manager Sara Barron said Grampians Community Health (GCH) and West Wimmera Health Service (WWHS) have supported multicultural communities for many years, but said cultural and language barriers were a significant problem.
“It’s been difficult for families with English as a second language to understand what aged and disability support services are available to them,” Ms Barron said.
"We are confident that this ground-breaking partnership will greatly improve the quality of life for Karen and other multicultural community members who may be suffering in silence.”
CCCS director Maung Hnin said her team understood the difficulties Karen families had experienced trying to access the right services for their loved ones.
“We have years of experience supporting clients from different cultural backgrounds, and training our staff to provide culturally responsive services,” Ms Hnin said.
Ms Barron said WSM Development was also partnering with Federation University to provide Karen residents with free training as personal carers over the next two years, and be a part of the CCCS team.
“A Certificate III in Individual Support course will start on October 17,” said Ms Barron.
“We see a powerful opportunity for Karen locals to take part in this training, and we will do what we can to support them through the course, including translation services, access to a laptop, and assistance with travel.”
WSM Development chief executive Chris Sounness said the partnerships would help grow regional capability and capacity to support vulnerable multicultural communities.
“Ultimately, we want to see our valued Karen families getting the support they need, and for a wave of qualified Karen carers filling an undesirable gap in the care workforce in the near future,” Mr Sounness said
“To be able to provide culturally sensitive training and placements for students with English as a second language will be critical to growing and diversifying our local workforce.”
For further information about accessing care or becoming a trained carer, contact Ms Barron on 0418 964 050 or sara.barron@wsm.org.au