Real Men’s Health is showcasing excellence in men’s health programs through our Men’s Health Program Series.
In each article, we will ask 5 questions of a featured program organiser to gain insight into what they do, and their thoughts on men’s health today.
In this article, we speak with Claude Robinson from The Rainbow Lodge Program.
Q1: Could you please describe your role within the organisation?
I am the manager of The Rainbow Lodge program and oversee the day to day running, staff supervision, grant applications, report writing and contract management.
Q2: Could you please describe what your organisation/program does?
The Rainbow Lodge has several programs-
Our residential program provides accommodation and healing for men coming out of incarceration. The program runs for 12 weeks, helping the men get back on their feet as they reintegrate into society.
Our Walama program supports First Nations men who are part of the Walama List trial in the District Court of NSW, which uses a culturally centred approach via circle sentencing to address the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system.
We have two bail programs, our day program which supports First Nations men on bail to attend our day programs, which include the AOD group, art therapy, living skills, men’s group, music therapy and cultural outings.
The second is our residential bail program for men on section 11 bail and where they are bailed to Rainbow Lodge before returning to court for sentencing, with the hope that they can be given community-based orders instead of a custodial sentence.
Our Ngaramura therapeutic transport program funded through NSW Aboriginal Affairs, transports First Nations men and women who are on remand in NSW correctional centres to come to treatment centres across the state.
Our ‘Healing through Culture’ program is a First Nations men’s program run at John Marony Correctional Centre Windsor NSW. We are funded through the Paul Ramsay Foundation as a trial for 2 years. It is facilitated by our Aboriginal partners Wiimpatja Consulting and G.U.I.R.
We also run our ‘Healing the Warrior’ Aboriginal men’s program in the community and all First Nations men who come through Rainbow Lodge do the program, plus other men in the community referred by Community Corrections. It is facilitated and written by Barkindji man Ivan Clarke who is one of the foremost experts in Australia on Aboriginal men’s change programs and has worked for ECAV and Say No to Violence previously.
We will work with 270 people this financial year with 80% of those being First Nations people. All our First Nations programs are written and facilitated by Aboriginal men either employed by Rainbow Lodge or Aboriginal owned companies.
Q3: What are the biggest changes you have observed within the men’s health space over the past 5-years?
I think what I’ve seen is an increase in mental health issues related to drug use, especially methamphetamine and GHB. The consequences remain long after the drug use ceases, and it also has such an impact on their physical health.
When opiates were the predominant drug of choice, there was very little mental and physical health issues once the person stopped the use. I also think our understanding of trauma has really increased, 90% of the men we work with are victim/survivors of childhood sexual abuse. That’s why at Rainbow Lodge we don’t “rehabilitate” we “Heal” as our men aren’t broken but are hurt.
This better understanding of the impact of trauma drives all areas of our service delivery, with our number one tool being safety and kindness.
Q4: If hypothetically, the Government offered you an unrestricted $1M grant tomorrow, what one project would you spend it all on?
We would open our ‘Safer Men Safer Families’ residential program for men who use violence against women and children.
The aim of the program is to support the family to remain in the home while the male is removed under court direction to our residential facility where they will have access to a suite of intensive programs.
It will consist of 2 streams of entry:
1.A short term 3–7-day cooling-off residential stay immediately after a person is charged and an ADVO that allows contact is put in place. The person will have short term intensive interventions to educate them on the impact of their behaviour and give them safe alternatives to the use of violence and control through education and counselling.
2.A 6-week intensive residential program to support men to understand the impact their behaviour has on the family. During their stay at our residential facility, they will engage in intensive interventions to educate them on the impact of their behaviour and give them safe alternatives to the use of violence and control through education and counselling.
The participants will also be given the tools to support them to implement behavioural change, post separation relationships and parenting skills.
There will be a strong focus on the key divers of DV, including financial stress, drug & alcohol misuse and gambling. These interventions will be delivered by professionals and lived experienced workers through individual counselling and groups.
3. A 6-week post residential support period where the men will have access to ongoing counselling and groups while re-integrating back into the community and family safely.
During this period, they will remain under close observation, through electronic monitoring and checks inns. This will allow for real time interventions by staff, including notifying Police and/or the courts of safety issues.
Q5: Do you have a favourite sports team, when & why did you start supporting them?
Yes, I support the Hawthorn Hawks AFL team, as I grew up in Melbourne.
I started supporting them when I was 6 years old, as I was in the Hawthorn zone where I lived and played football. I’ve been very lucky as they have won 10 premierships in my lifetime, and I was at the MCG in 2015 to see them complete 3 in a row.
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