Community Partnerships

MindMatters proposes that the development of community partnerships will be effective and sustainable when the approach is respectful, inclusive and methodical.

Families play a vital role in building resilience in their children. Schools that are serious about building resilience to promote mental health and wellbeing among their students will give priority to developing partnerships with parents and the broader community.

MindMatters identifies a number of family and community protective factors (see Whole School Matters). School experience shows that working on a topic like mental health and wellbeing for the whole community, brings people together. Participants are able to bring their own experience to the initiative and feel a sense of ownership toward it. Partnerships are built on the basis of the strengths schools have identified within communities and families.

A concerted, negotiated long-term relationship between school and community, such as that represented in the MindMatters Community Partnerships Process, means that these parties plan and undertake strategies together. The MindMatters Community Partnerships Process diagram below describes a process that can be undertaken by a community toward increasing their mental health and wellbeing.

Community Partnerships team

Aaron Ken, Community Partnerships Officer

Aaron started with MindMatters in late 2006 as a Youth Empowerment presenter. During this time, he helped to develop the program and materials for the Youth Empowerment Process, and presented workshops on numerous occasions to a variety of different schools and audiences.
In his role of Community Project Officer, Aaron is helping to develop and present the Communities Do Matter resources.
Aaron’s experiences in having taught and been educated in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara (APY) homelands and in the city, have given him a great insight into what some of the issues are for remote Indigenous students who may be studying either inside or outside their traditional communities.

Kanat Wano

Kanat Wano, Consultant

Kanat Wano has worked as a State Project Officer in NSW in 2005 and 2006. He is now a consultant for MindMatters community partnerships with other projects for Principals Australia. Based in Townsville he works predominantly in NSW, Queensland, Northern Territory and Tasmania. Kanat’s interest is building young peoples' resilience using a strengths based approach. His past work with Queensland corrections and Catholic education has contributed to the development of his passion and skills.

Gina_Milgate Gina Milgate,Consultant

Gina Milgate is a Researcher in Indigenous Education at the Australian Council for Educational Research. Click here to view her biography.

Garry_C Garry Creighton, Consultant
I am a Gomeroi /Kamilaroi Murri Man, born in Moree, North Western NSW.
I am currently employed as an Aboriginal Health Education Officer with the Child, Youth & Family Unit with Tamworth Community Health, Hunter New England Area Health Service based at Tamworth NSW.
Previous roles were Aboriginal Juvenile Justice Officer, DOC’S Officer and Community Development Officer with the Kamilaroi Aboriginal Legal Service.
I was involved with the development and facilitation of MindMatters Feeling Deadly not Shame workshops for Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander young people in partnership with Yaamanhaa Aboriginal Men’s Group Tamworth in 2006.
My interests include: Yaamanhaa Aboriginal Men’s Group Tamworth, Board member of the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service, Board member of the Tamworth Aboriginal Medical Service, Volunteer for the Rural Fire Service Tamworth.