Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

These issues [where removal has led to an inability to nurture children who in turn developbehavioural disturbances] often require intensive resources [including] lots of individual therapyand also family therapy. That’s one of the key areas where there’s a real lack of good services at aprimary health care level (Dr Ian Anderson, Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, evidence 260).Continuing emotional distress as a result of the removal policies receivesinsufficient attention.There are very limited counselling or specific services available to Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander people directed to assisting families and individuals who have been affected by theseparation under compulsion, duress or undue influence of any Aboriginal or Torres StraitIslander children from their families. General mental health services, i.e. mainstream, have beendescribed as not being aware of or responsive to Aboriginal people’s mental health issuesgenerally and to the issues of trauma and grief in particular (Professor Beverley Raphaelsubmission 658 page 3).What this means for Link-Up clients and for separated people in general who are dealing withlong term and profound distress as a result of separations, is that there are very few servicesavailable to meet their counselling and specialised therapeutic needs (Link-Up (NSW)submission 186 page 159).RecommendationsOur recommendations are underpinned by the recognition that a substantial injectionof funding is needed to address the emotional and well-being needs of Indigenous peopleaffected by forcible removal. In addition it is clear that these needs must be treated asunique because of their causes and because of the family and socio-economic contexts inwhich they are now experienced.By funding rehabilitation services for survivors of torture the Commonwealth andStates have already recognised the need for specialist services, in this case particularly forrefugees and other immigrant torture and trauma survivors, to meet unique needs. Thereis a torture and trauma rehabilitation service in each State and Territory with substantialjoint Commonwealth-State funding and large professional and bilingual staffing. Forexample, the Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and TraumaSurvivors (STARTTS) in NSW receives $1.3 million annually to deal with a caseload ofapproximately 400 clients each year. These services meet a distinctive mental healthneed. Indigenous mental healt needs are also distinctive and require similar specialistresponses.Data collectionBefore services addressing the range of needs arising from the forcible removalpolicies can be planned and implemented, basic information is needed on what and wherethose needs are. Indigenous people, specifically organisations already confronted byaspects of the traumas and other issues arising, need to be involved as partners in thecollection of that information. These organisations include family tracing and reunion