This project is a partnership between Yinggarda Aboriginal Corporation and Carnarvon Common Ground, with each leading a different but connected piece of the work. Yinggarda Aboriginal Corporation is developing a Carnarvon‑specific cultural awareness package for service providers working on Yinggarda Country, while CCG is working with community mentors and leaders living in Carnarvon to develop youth‑focused Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) and cultural materials they can use in their work with young people.
Why this project is needed
Carnarvon is home to many Aboriginal families from different language groups, all living and working on Yinggarda Country. Many services arrive with limited understanding of local cultural authority, histories and trauma. At the same time, local Aboriginal mentors are supporting highly vulnerable young people without always having access to structured SEWB training or tools that fit the way youth think, learn and connect.
This project addresses both gaps. It ensures services receive clear, Yinggarda‑led guidance on how to work respectfully on Country, and it backs local mentors and leaders to strengthen their SEWB skills and use youth‑friendly cultural resources that are grounded in Yinggarda authority and shaped by the diversity of Aboriginal families in Carnarvon.
Yinggarda‑led cultural awareness for services
Yinggarda Aboriginal Corporation is leading the design of a Carnarvon‑specific cultural awareness package for government and non‑government services based in Carnarvon. The package will:
- introduce staff to Yinggarda lore, language, stories, history and cultural protocols
- explain local trauma context and how it affects families and young people
- provide practical guidance on culturally safe and respectful ways of working with Aboriginal people in Carnarvon.
Over time, this training is intended to become a standard part of induction and ongoing professional development for staff across justice, health, education and community services.
Youth SEWB and cultural tools with CCG
In parallel, CCG is working with a group of screened community mentors and emerging leaders in Carnarvon to:
- co‑design youth‑focused SEWB and cultural materials – activities, stories, digital tools and app‑based content – that help young people connect to culture, identity and wellbeing.
- support access to high‑quality SEWB training that is culturally safe, trauma‑informed and locally relevant.
All content relating to Yinggarda Country will be developed in partnership with Yinggarda Aboriginal Corporation to ensure cultural authority is respected, while also giving mentors from other language groups space to bring their own strengths and experiences into the work. These tools will be used in youth hubs, on‑Country programs, justice‑related initiatives, schools and community groups.
How the two streams work together
The project is structured so that:
- Yinggarda leads the service‑facing cultural awareness package for Yinggarda Country.
- CCG and local mentors focus on youth‑specific SEWB and cultural tools that draw on that foundation and respond to the daily realities of young people in Carnarvon.
Together, this helps to:
- ensure cultural authority, youth wellbeing and practical tools all point in the same direction – towards safer, more respectful interactions and better outcomes for young people on Yinggarda Country.
- align what services learn in formal training with the support young people receive from community mentors
- strengthen relationships between services, Yinggarda and the wider Aboriginal community.
What this project is hoping to deliver
Through this project we’re working towards:
- a Yinggarda‑led cultural awareness program for Carnarvon, so people working here understand Yinggarda Country and how to work with local families
- a solid group of local Aboriginal mentors and leaders, from different language groups, with extra SEWB skills to support our young people
- practical SEWB and cultural tools – activities, stories and simple digital/app resources – that mentors can use with young people in youth spaces, on‑Country, at school and in justice programs
- better relationships between services and community, with Yinggarda setting the cultural direction and local mentors carrying the work day to day
- young people who feel safer, more connected to culture, and more understood.
Over time, this is about changing the day‑to‑day feel in Carnarvon – from services turning up with one‑size‑fits‑all answers, to work that is led from Country and community, and helps keep our kids, families and workers safer.
