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WITH SAM DAWSON OF PFLAG COFFS COAST
Anabell Thoener is our local representative for ACON ... What is ACON, I hear you ask, and what does ACON do? We sat down with Anabell to find out more.
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Anabell Thoener ACON
18 Coffs Coast focus
nabell, what is your role at ACON, and what type of organisation is ACON? ACON is a community based health promotion organisation specialising in community health, inclusion and HIV responses for people of diverse sexualities and genders. My role at ACON is Health Promotion Outreach Officer. ACON’s head office is in Sydney; however, I’m based in Coffs Harbour working part-time, and I cover the area from Coffs Harbour to Port Macquarie. I’ve been working with ACON for 10 years now, and it’s been an incredible journey. Do you find this service is well utilised and helpful to the LGBTIQ community? Yes, I think it is. In regional areas we generally have a lack of LGBTIQ specific services, so I get a lot of people contacting me for all sorts of reasons, including things like social isolation, for information related to HIV and LGBTIQ health, for referrals to other appropriate and inclusive services, and for training. I also try to remain connected with as many local community groups and events as possible, because while we may not have the number of services that the bigger city areas do, we certainly have some amazing community heroes out there doing some fabulous things! What services does ACON offer? Is education a big part of your role? ACON has a wide range of programmes and campaigns, including programmes on HIV support,
LGBTQ sexual health, mental health, domestic violence, alcohol and other drugs, ageing, and training and consulting. In my role as a Health Promotion Officer, education and health promotion certainly plays a big role. Education is essential for community members, allies and service providers. I attend a lot of both community events and mainstream events carrying out HIV and general LGBTI health promotion, and we also do a lot of training and in-services with other organisations, to assist in them becoming more LGBTI inclusive and friendly. I think that this is particularly important in regional areas, where we may not have many LGBTI specific services available. Many members of the LGBTQ community and those with HIV still face discrimination in different forms, and this in turn can significantly impact their overall health and wellbeing. In the LGBTI community we see disproportionally high numbers of depression, anxiety and suicide attempts when compared with the general population. Hopefully with ongoing training, education and support, this will continue to improve and people with HIV and the LGBTI community as a whole can go on to lead the fabulous lives that they deserve to live! How can people get in touch? People can get in touch by email: athoener@ acon.org.au or phone (02) 6651 6017 or 0409 680 836. ACON also has a great website with heaps of information on it, which people can access at www.acon.org.au