Indigenous Health placement at Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation

Indigenous Health placement at Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation

“Through our Indigenous Health placement at Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation in Grafton, we had the opportunity to visit a rehabilitation centre in Brisbane. This was an eye opening experience, with the chance to talk to the clients one on one and hear about their struggles with addiction.

Being involved in writing the “Stories about addiction and getting help” was a great privilege as well as eye-opening experience to undertake. It is not often that you are invited to share in one’s emotional and physical struggles without any hindrance or barriers, just the raw bare bones laid in front of you. It was truly humbling and we are extremely grateful to the Jessie Budby Healing Centre for facilitating, and of course the clients who shared. This booklet would not be possible without their generosity.

To those at Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation, thank you for being so welcoming and accommodating to us throughout our placement. Thank you Trevor, David, and Darren; you guys are also the reason this was written. It is no easy task to overcome addictions, so we hope that this booklet will help to break the stigma around rehab, and bridge the gap to recognising and asking for help.

Hearing about their lives was very humbling, and gave us a new insight into the reality of addiction and how it impacts upon their lives. I feel like we now have a better appreciation of the complicated nature of substance abuse, and hope that this impacts our approach and outlook as future clinicians”

Written by Shireen Gujral and Mathew Nguyen -2017 Western Sydney University Yr5 medical students -Lismore (pictured)