Ngarra Jarranounith Place today received a gold award in the community-led category of the 2021 Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards (ACVPA).
The ACVPA recognise best practice in the prevention or reduction of violence and other types of crime in Australia and play a vital role in highlighting effective community-based initiatives to prevent crime and violence.
Ngarra Jarranounith Place offers a 16-week intensive, culturally safe residential healing and behavior change program for Aboriginal men who use, or are at risk of using, family violence. The partners and children of those men are also supported by Dardi Munwurro’s Family Safety team.
CEO of Dardi Munwurro, Alan Thorpe, said Ngarra Jarranounith means ‘men’s healing place’.
“Ngarra Jarranounith Place provides holistic support for men to strengthen their culture, adopt positive behaviours and nurture healthy relationships and decrease the risk of family violence.
“The program provides one-on-one case management, structured group work, volunteering and community engagement, supported by a case worker, Elders and a range of practitioners and professionals,” said Mr Thorpe.
These annual awards recognise the outstanding contributions being made across Australia for crime prevention, including the development and implementation of practical projects to reduce violence and other types of crime in the community.
Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) Director, Michael Phelan APM, said that Ngarra Jarranounith Place is a worthwhile program for both men and their families.
“The program helps to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma in the Victorian Aboriginal community and supports healing for behaviours that can manifest in family violence. It demonstrates an effective response to a complex community issue,” said Mr Phelan.
All projects are assessed each year by the ACVPA Board, which is chaired by the AIC Director and consists of senior law enforcement representatives from each state and territory police service.
The awards are a joint Australian Government, state and territory initiative administered by the AIC.
For more information about the award winners, visit www.aic.gov.au/acvpa
To watch the ceremony please visit our YouTube channel, CriminologyTV.
AIC Media:
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