National Talkblack 111121

We had:

Rebecca Forrest, 2021 NT Australian of the year talking about her achievements. A person who has escaped from a domestic violence situation and vowed to leave no man or woman behind has been named NT Australian of the Year 2022 Local Hero. Palmerston Citizen of the Year Rebecca Forrest is a campaigner for social justice, anti-violence, youth affairs and the vulnerable. The former Palmerston alderman was a victim of domestic and family violence while working for the NT Police media unit. She is also a men’s advocate and organises events for International Men’s Day.

Melinda Cruz, Founder & Board Director of Miracle Babies Foundation, talking about what the Miracles of Babies Foundation is. Melinda’s drive and passion comes from a very personal position. As the mother of three boys all born premature, Melinda knows firsthand the long term challenges and trauma having a baby in specialised care can bring. Her first son, Elijah, was born at 34 weeks, spending 21/2 weeks in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Her second son Dillon was born at 27 weeks and resuscitated at birth. He spent nine weeks in hospital before being allowed to go home. Her third son, Jasper, born at 37 weeks also spent time in NICU.

Shea Spierings, Lead researcher at The University of Queensland, talking about the Research project that will investigate how health communication can work best for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people during a pandemic. This research is being conducted via a short survey and some of the issues they’re covering in the study are what types of information do our people want access to so that they can keep themselves and their families/communities safe from COVID; what’s the best way to get health information to people (facebook, radio, via GP’s etc.); and what are the perceptions of the COVID vaccines within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The results from this survey will be shared with the community-controlled health care sector to help give guidance on health messaging for the future. The survey can be found on their website: https://poche.centre.uq.edu.au/yarningaboutcovid

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