Across Lutheran Care’s sites and services, staff have been getting involved in NAIDOC Week, engaging with the theme ‘For Our Elders’, and reflecting on the many successes and strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Our team based on Arrernte Country in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) were excited to participate in the NAIDOC Week march as part of a week full of activities hosted by local organisations. The March culminated in a Community Day, and our team enjoyed visiting the stalls and meeting with the public and other community service providers and stakeholders.

The team also participated in a dot painting activity led Rachel Swan, who is a proud Pertame (Southern Aranda/Luritja) woman, a member of Lutheran Care’s Alice Springs team and also an experienced artist. Each staff member created a dot painting to represent themselves through culture. The team also spent some time in the kitchen, baking scones and damper for clients to enjoy with a cup of tea to help keep the cold away.

Lutheran Care’s Executive Manager Community Services, Susan Richards, was visiting from South Australia and was excited to spend this special week with our Northern Territory team.

The Alice Springs team is located at 2/21 Gregory Terrace, and deliver services to clients in the local area, and surrounding communities via outreach. Services include Emergency Relief (including food, blankets and referrals to other services) and Financial Counselling/Literacy, which supports people with knowledge, skills and confidence, to help them improve their financial situations in the longer term.

For information about our Northern Territory services, please click here.