— CALD and the Lived Experience Workforce
Summary
A range of services within Australia and internationally have been developed that are focused on the engagement of individuals who are of refugee background to work as a liaison between their communities and mental health services. The Community Liaison Worker (CLW) role at the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (VFST) was developed in 2008 in order to engage in such capacity-building initiatives.
Aims: To review and document the establishment, evolution and current status of the VFST CLW role, and examine the perspectives of CLWs on their role in trauma-informed community capacity-building.
Methods: The study comprised of two stages: a historical case study of the development of the CLW role, and a qualitative research study based on interviews with CLWs in order to identify key themes regarding various aspects of their role and understand the facilitators and barriers to their work of trauma-informed capacity-building with their respective communities.
About
In this submission and request for funding SydWest Multicultural Services seeks to build on expertise and experience working with multicultural communities in health and mental health to provide a joined-up CALD Specialist Lived Experience Workforce model to improve access and availability of high quality and culturally responsive mental health care in Greater We; Greater Western Sydneystern Sydney.