Social & Emotional Wellbeing

(Social Emotional Wellbeing) Social Worker

'Speaking for yourself'

SEWB problems include a wide range of issues, such as: ‘grief, loss, trauma, abuse, violence, substance misuse, physical health problems, child development problems, gender identity issues, child removals, incarceration, cultural dislocation, racism and social disadvantage, while mental health problems may include crisis reactions, anxiety, states, depression, posttraumatic stress, self-harm, and psychosis. People who have gone through those issues must need to know their rights and should have clear identification of support they needed. For that, self-advocacy is the best solution as having a voice of your own, is fundamental to both asserting yourself and exploring yourself. This is important because it is directly linked to building confidence and self-esteem. It is important to have the possibility of talking about your life and your experiences so that who you are can be validated by others. In this way having a voice of your own has the power to construct your identity.

This journey of self-education is an ongoing process, as individual needs change over time. There are 10 steps that can be used to becoming an effective self-advocate.

Current COVID situation and the importance of getting vaccinated.

We currently have a COVID out break with over 100 people having been diagnosed with COVID 19. Some of these people have opted to quarantine either in Port Augusta or Adelaide because of health reason as well as inability to safely quarantine at home. This has highlighted the importance of vaccination. While 85% of our Indigenous population aged between 12 and 100 have had 2 COVID vaccine doses, only a handful have had three. For this group, having the third COVID vaccine is really important given that the new strain of COVID 19 is highly infectious or easily caught. The other group that needs their vaccination are children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. Currently half of the positive cases in SA are school aged children and young people. With cases at the local school and children freely playing with one another and visiting one another’s homes, it will soon be the same in Coober Pedy. Getting those who are eligible vaccinated will protect and save the lives of those who cannot be vaccinated like the very young (0- 4 years old), those with lots of chronic diseases and those who are allergic to components of the vaccines. Let us all do our part to protect our loved ones, greater family and our community.