$842,000 to Support Wellbeing of Aboriginal Children and their Families

18 July, 2017

Aboriginal children and their families in Melbourne’s north will soon have stronger support for their wellbeing through Bubup Wilam Early Learning Aboriginal Child and Family Centre, which is helping change the fact that Indigenous children are almost twice as likely as non-Indigenous children to be developmentally vulnerable in health and wellbeing[1].

Eastern Melbourne PHN (EMPHN) has provided Bubup Wilam $842,000 to help consolidate and build on the organisation’s range of services which bring together health, housing, welfare and education support to provide better health and wellbeing outcomes for children and families of the Aboriginal community.

EMPHN CEO Robin Whyte, said funding Bubup Wilam is part of EMPHNs commitment to culturally appropriate care, and we are pleased to support the development of a locally accessible service hub.

“Self-determination is a vitally important part of Aboriginal health and we want to support Bubup Wilam in their work to improve the health of Aboriginal children in a way that is holistic and culturally safe,” Robin said.

“Health outcomes are closely linked to other aspects of life, such as education and housing, which is why Bubup Wilam’s model is so important.”

“By providing a range of services in one place, Bubup Wilam will be able to work effectively with its community and have a greater impact on the wellbeing of children and their families.”

Bubup Wilam CEO Lisa Thorpe, said the intention was to always a have health component to the Aboriginal child and family centre as health and education go hand in hand.

“Due to many children having high and complex needs and the families needing to access a range of different services, we found ourselves needing to provide more services and advocate on their behalf,” she said.

EMPHN’s funding will allow the centre to deliver a stronger and more intensive program, with Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) providing technical and clinical expertise.

The funding will also enable the service to collate better quality data to improve service administration.

This service is supported by funding from the Australian Government under the PHN Program as part of EMPHN’s commitment to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of health and medical services for people in the eastern and north-eastern areas of Melbourne.

EMPHN works to improve the wellbeing of its community, particularly for those at risk of poor health outcomes, by improving coordination of care and ensuring patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time. EMPHN works across an area of 3,956 km² comprising a population of more than 1.5 million people. www.emphn.org.au



[1] Closing the Gap, Prime Minister’s Report 2017