The eyes of the Commonwealth were on Albany today as the Queen's Baton journeys through Western Australia towards its final destination, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony on 4 April 2018.

Southern Aboriginal Corporation staff were delighted to cheer on Member for Albany and former Olympian and Commonwealth runner, Peter Watson, who is just one of the many Batonbearers.

The Queen's Baton began its journey at Buckingham Palace on 13 March 2017 and set off in Australia on 25 December 2017, travelling for 100 days to connect with as many people as possible in every State and Territory. The Queen's Baton carries a message from Her Majesty The Queen through the entire Commonwealth. The Games are declared officially open when the message is read aloud.

Visit www.gc2018.com to find out more about this international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth.

Albany Pottery Club glazer Brett Barker, who won Overall Best Teapot at the 2016 Sydney Teapot Show, recently paid his respects to the Elders of this region by presenting a beautifully handcrafted teapot to SAC's Glen Colbung.

Brett, who is originally from New South Wales, started working with clay after having been seriously injured in a workplace accident. His recovery was slow and he found working with clay to be very therapeutic with the situation in which he found himself. Brett pursued his interest in ceramics and obtained a Diploma in Ceramics from Ballarat University.

Brett wants to become more involved with the people of this country and to learn and grow and thereby reflect these experiences in his work.

Should you be interested in contacting Brett, please contact Charmaine at SAC on 9842-7777 or by email at ea@sacorp.com.au.

Today White Ribbon Australia’s Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Sunila Kotwal delivered a workshop to a men’s group and highlighted the role they can play alongside women to stop violence against women, based on the understanding that most men are not violent.

Through education, awareness raising, creative campaigns, preventative programs and partnerships, White Ribbon Australia provides the tools for men to stop violence against women in their community and beyond.

Thank you to White Ribbon Australia representatives, Sunila and Sharmane, for the presentation they made to the ladies group today. The three hour session dealt with topics such as understanding men’s violence against women, its impact and key drivers. The workshop gave tips to take steps to prevent this violence, manage disclosures and stand up and speak out.

White Ribbon is committed to helping to drive change in attitudes and behaviours that lead to violence in many women’s lives

142 Walks. 60 Countries. 1 Movement.

This year, in celebration of International Women's Day, members of the Global Leadership Network will be leading 142 Global Mentoring Walks in over 60 countries. Albany and Geelong are representing Australia.

From metropolitan Lagos and coastal Miami Beach, to the Fiji Islands and Rio de Janeiro, Mentoring Walk organisers have shaped a movement to empower the next generation of women leaders.

e for organising this inaugural event.

SAC has partnered with Albany & Regional Volunteer Service who is proud to be involved in this event.

As this movement grows each year, the Global Mentoring Walks provide established women leaders a platform to activate the potential of a new generation of change-making, boundary-pushing women, enabling them to create a better world for us all.

Invest in Women. Improve the World.

#PressforProgress

Women interested in participating in this event either as a 'Mentor' or a 'Mentee', should email their expressions of interest to ea@sacorp.com.au or contact Charmaine on 9842 7777.

Saturday, 10 March 2018 - 9.30am to 12.00pm

Participation fee: $15-00

Meet in Foyer of Albany Entertainment Centre

Thank you to the women of our community who are helping us Share the Dignity by donating pre-loved handbags full of essentials such as personal hygiene products for women fleeing family and domestic violence. Today Hazel MacKenzie, a volunteer for Share the Dignity, delivered a quantity of gifts for which we are most grateful.

Left to right: Violet Tompsett, Asha Bhat and Hazel MacKenzie

This afternoon Rick England, CEO of Albany Youth Support Association delivered a gift of 4 backpack beds with lightweight sleeping bags to SAC. These items are for temporary use by homeless people sleeping rough.

Forty such items were purchased by AYSA from funds raised during Homelessness Week.

Thank you to the financial members who attended the AGM in Albany on Saturday, 25 November 2017, some of whom travelled from as far afield as Bunbury, Brookton and Collie.

Please take a moment to read the 2016-17 Annual Report which can be found in 'Publications'.

We also wish to thank Motel le Grande for providing a lovely venue and tasty lunch.

On 23 November 1983 the Southern Aboriginal Corporation was incorporated.

Many thanks to the incredible team at SAC for your hard work and commitment and to the community for your ongoing support. We can all be very proud of this outstanding milestone.

Congratulations to our CEO, Asha Bhat who was recently selected as a Telstra Western Australia for Purpose and Social Enterprise Award Finalist.

All those who know Asha know how passionate and committed she is to advancing access to quality and culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal people.

Mental health problems are common in the community, so we are likely to have close contact with people affected. Someone who is informed about the options available for professional help can assist the person to get appropriate help. For this reason, our staff attended a 14 hour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid course last week.

Our sincere thanks to Teresa Miller (Manager of Social and Emotional Wellness Service, Richmond Wellbeing) and Rosalie Kickett (Aboriginal Health & Cultural Worker, St John of God Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal Network), both proud Noongar women for sharing their wealth of knowledge.

Congratulations to CEO Asha Bhat, who has been selected to participate in the Global Ambassadors Program (GAP) in Chicago, Illinois, USA in September 2017. She will join 10 other women leaders from around the world who will work with a cohort of Global Ambassadors, established women executives from a range of sectors and organisations, on the challenges facing leaders and their organisations. Asha had the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull when he visited Albany last week.

Now something exciting for our Indigenous youth aged 15 to 20 years.

If you're interested in exploring different professions and/or further information on study options, then this is the Expo for you. Come to PCYC on Thursday, 27 July 2017 from 10.30am to 2pm. You'll receive an amazing gift bag when registering with our Aboriginal Youth Transition Strategy program, enjoy a free sausage sizzle and refreshments, chat to potential employers and recruiters and hear the Tidswell twins perform. The inspiring Robbie Miniter is our Guest Speak and you'll be entertained by the Kwarbah Djookian dance group.

Southern Aboriginal Corporation (SAC) is calling on State and Federal Governments to fund a substance abuse and rehabilitation facility near Albany.

Program Manager Oscar Colbung said it should be a family-oriented hostel for people of all ethnic backgrounds.

"We're going to look at the Noongar people but also if there's other people out there who need that assistance it should be available for them." he said.

"This drug (ICE) has impacted on everyone, not just one section of the community, and at this point in time there's not much being done in the Great Southern."

SAC CEO Asha Bhat said her group was better placed to run the facility because it already had a range of other services that could be used when people left the Hostel.

"We have employment and we have housing and we have got Health Promotion programs." she said. "It's not just providing that rehabilitation and leaving them alone; we can provide the transitional housing for them to transition and have a normal life".

She said the rehabilitation centre was a key recommendation arising from a two-day forum SAC conducted last October. Federal Indigenous Health Minister Ken Wyatt, O'Connor MP Rick Wilson and Albany MLA Peter Watson all participated in the event.

"We had nine community consultation sessions around six locations and we got input from the wider community before leading up to the forum." Ms Bhat said. "We went out to the other towns in the region as far as Katanning and Gnowangerup".

She said the proposed facility would serve the whole of the Great Southern Region but should be located within 20km of Albany Health Campus.

Article by Geoff Vivian as it appeared in the Great Southern Weekender, published March 16, 2017.