The Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal Corporation (WYDAC), formerly known as the Mt Theo Program and then the Mt Theo-Yuendumu Substance Misuse Aboriginal Corporation, is a provider of youth services and programs for young

Warlpiri people The Warlpiri, sometimes referred to as Yapa, are a group of Aboriginal Australians defined by their Warlpiri language, although not all still speak it. There are 5,000–6,000 Warlpiri, living mostly in a few towns and settlements scattered thr ...

, founded and run by Warlpiri people in

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and i ...

, with its home base in

Yuendumu Yuendumu is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia, northwest of Alice Springs on the Tanami Road, within the Central Desert Region local government area. It ranks as one of the larger remote communities in central Australia, and has a t ...

community. It was previously a successful youth diversion and development program.

History

The Mt Theo program was established in 1993 to address an epidemic of

petrol sniffing Inhalants are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via the nose or mouth to produce intoxication, in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. They ...

at Yuendumu. Initially Warlpiri elders, with the key support of the community members and community organisations such as the school and shop, ran the program at their own expense. They took groups of young sniffers to Mount Theo (Purturlu) outstation, about away from Yuendumu, on sacred and remote country. The young people were taught traditional culture, skills such as hunting and gathering and how to care for the environment. With success came some government funding. The Mt Theo Program was first supported by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation and the

Foundation for Young Australians The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) is an Australian non-profit organisation whose purpose is to back young people with the trust, resources, skills, and connections to make change. The organisation's vision is that young people have the ...

, but by 2006/7 it was also supported by the Commonwealth Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and the Mental Health Workforce Division, and by this time was named the Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal Corporation. The program featured in the media, and Peggy Brown, Johnny Miller and Andrew Stojanovski were awarded

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

medals. Mt Theo was selected by the

Department of Health and Ageing The Australian Federal Department of Health and Ageing was an Australian government department that existed between November 2001 and September 2013. The department was created after the 2001 federal election from the Department of ...

as a "national model and leader in addressing substance misuse in Aboriginal communities, and a program of excellence", to represent Australia at the 2006 Healing Our Spirits Worldwide Conference in Canada. It was able to report 365 days without petrol-sniffing in their community. In 2002 the service was expanded to include services for youth outside of school hours, to engage them and develop their leadership potential. This was called the Jaru Pirrjirdi (Strong Voices) program. In the few years following, other Warlpiri communities at Willowra, Nyirrpi and

Lajamanu Lajamanu, formerly known as Hooker Creek Native Settlement or just Hooker Creek, is a small town of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located around from Katherine and approximately from Darwin. At the 2016 Australian census, Lajama ...

also developed youth programs, and in 2008 Yuendumu Swimming Pool was opened, all run by WYDAC. Since 2009, professionally qualified counsellors and other staff provide further support services, including a crisis response service. The Mt Theo/Yuendumu Substance Misuse Aboriginal Corporation changed its name to the Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal Corporation in 2008 at a meeting of its committee, members and staff. Although it continued to be colloquially known as the "Mt Theo Program", it was felt that the official name should be changed to more accurately reflect what the organisation was then doing, having (essentially) won the war on petrol-sniffing. The Warra-Warra Kanyi Counselling Service was started in 2009 as a new initiative by WYDAC to provide specialised counselling services to young Warlpiri people, through a Warlpiri-designed service.

Description

Since 1993, the Mt Theo program has helped to rehabilitate over 500 "at risk" young people, regardless of substance abuse, from many different communities. Clients are referred by community elders, police or NT Corrections. WYDAC is supported by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

through the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Social Services; the

Northern Territory Government The Government of the Northern Territory of Australia, also referred to as the Northern Territory Government, is the Australian territorial democratic administrative authority of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory wa ...

through its Department of Health and Department of Sport and Recreation; and the Warlpiri Education and Training Trust. It is also supported by the Central Australian Youth Link-up Service and Royal Life Saving Australia is a partner. The organisation continues to be run by Warlpiri people, and employs over 70 people over five locations. The Youth and Family Services division runs numerous services and programs, including the swimming pool, Mt Theo program, Restorative Justice and Court Diversion for Young People, and the Tanami Kamina-Kamina Wirntija-ku (Tanami Girls Dance and Culture Camp). Under its Corporate Services wing, it runs a training workshop for mechanics.

References

External links

*{{official, http://wydac.org.au/home/ Addiction organisations in Australia Indigenous Australian education Organisations serving Indigenous Australians Aboriginal Australian health Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory

History

Description

See also

References

Further reading

External links