Helping Deadly Young Mob in Cairns “Get Work Ready”.

Once again our team in Cairns delivered the “Get Work Ready” community legal education workshop to IYMP (Cairns) students. The students are completing their final month of study, and this workshop helps prepare them for a successful entry into the workforce by providing timely information on their work rights, how to deal with employment disputes and the array of support organisations available to assist them on their career path.

The students were highly engaged in the session and left feeling equipped to approach the working world confidently. Congratulations to the students who have completed their certificates and all the best for a bright future in the workforce.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day – Innisfail

Members of our Cairns team attended the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day event hosted by Mamu Health Service in Innisfail. It was a joy celebrating our children and getting an insight into the local community’s concerns and finding out where ATSILS may be able to target key services to be part of the solution. The team also provided information on our Respect@Work program which was of interest to the community.

The children’s favourite pick of ATSILS merchandise were the sun hats and drink bottles as pictured. We thank Mamu Health Service and Innisfail for hosting such a warm and engaging community event.

Respect@Work Program – CLE: Cairns

 

ATSILS CLE - Respect at WorkATSILS Solicitor Cicilia Halaholo continues to deliver Community Legal Education  (CLE) sessions throughout Far North Queensland under ATSILS Respect@Work Program. The key aim of the program is to prevent workplace sexual harassment and the most recent CLE was delivered through our partnership with Indigenous Youth Mobility Pathways (IYMP) to remote students based in Cairns.

The students showed great engagement with the content of the CLE and were very receptive to dealing with this sensitive workplace issue as they prepare to complete their studies and enter the workforce.

ATSILS also provided a range of merchandise and legal resources to complement their learning. Many of the students requested more information on other key legal topics from ATSILS and we plan to  deliver more resources to assist these robust learners leading the way for our communities.

ATSILS thanks the IYMP and their student cohort for their generosity and valued partnership to date and we look forward to continuing to build on this strong relationship into the future.

Out in Community for NAIDOC at Ferny Grove State High School

ATSILS held a stall at the NAIDOC celebration at Ferny Grove State High School on Wednesday 10th July which saw approximately 2000 students and teachers come down to the oval to participate.

The day was a great success with many students and teachers stopping by the stall to ask about what ATSILS does. Some students had great questions about the law and current legal issues. The wristbands and information brochures were very popular and were quickly all snapped up by eager students.

Please join us in supporting the #ARightToLearn Campaign

We all know kids have a right to learn, but last year Queensland state schools suspended and excluded nearly 3,900 more students than the year before – a total of 81,918 kids missed out on their right to learn. Join and share our A Right To Learn campaign now to keep the pressure on the government to call a full parliamentary inquiry!

Join the campaign here https://www.arighttolearn.com.au/pledge

Respect@Work – Community Legal Education – Cairns

Last week ATSILS’s solicitor Cicilia Halaholo presented our Respect@Work CLE session to a deadly group of students from the Indigenous Youth Mobility Pathways Project (IYMP).

IYMP in Cairns provides a training program for youth from the Torres Strait Islands and Cape York.

Our Respect@Work Legal Service focuses on preventing Workplace Sexual Harassment with casework and community legal education offered as part of the program.

Students showed keen interest during the workshop and are now armed with better legal knowledge to support their journeys into the workforce. The students were also given a range of ATSILS merchandise and legal resources to take home and reinforce their learning on the topic.

ATSILS looks forward to forging more community partnerships with IYMP to nurture a solid future for our youth.

Please contact ATSILS for more information on the Respect@Work legal service. https://atsils.org.au/contact/

Assisting Elders through our Community Legal Education outreach!

ATSILS’ Community Legal Education Team recently delivered a talk on Wills and Powers of Attorney for Elders at the Metro North Community and Oral Health Yarning Circle in Brighton.
 
The talk covered topics including: what is a Will?; what is a Beneficiary; what is an Executor; what can I put in my Will; what happens if I die without a Will; what is a Power of Attorney and Enduring Power of Attorney?; How to I set one up; Who should I choose to be my Attorney; How to revoke a Power of Attorney; and what to do if an Attorney acts improperly.
 
Many Elders attended and asked a lot of great questions which generated lots of great yarns about the importance of setting up these key legal documents.
Community Legal Education – Youth Justice’s Transition 2 Success Program

ATSILS’ Community Legal Education Team recently delivered a talk to a group of young people participating in Youth Justice’s Transition 2 Success Program.

The talk covered topics including: why it is important to understand your rights when dealing with police; understanding the right to silence, the right to have a support person present and the right to ask if you are free to leave; the questions that you are legally obligated to answer in police interactions; understanding police searches; and what to do if you are a victim of crime or want to make a complaint about police conduct.

The young ones were very open and asked great questions. Many spoke of their own experiences and this generated even more yarns about what to do in certain scenarios and the importance of understanding your rights and obligations under the law when interacting with police.

Delivering Community Legal Education to Hymba Yumba Students

Members of our Brisbane CLE team were out in the community last week empowering students at the Hymba Yumba Independent School to understand their legal rights.

Pree Sharma and Michelle Rabbidge delivered the community legal education session to the deadly young group. The session focussed on teaching the jarjums about their basic rights when interacting with police, what to do if they are stopped by the police, when to seek legal advice and what to do if they are a victim of a crime.

Approximately 30 students attended and were very engaged, asking great questions along the way. ATSILS regularly delivers legal education sessions to the community as part of our Prevention, Intervention and Community Legal Education Program.

Community Legal Education – QATSICPP Forum Cairns

CLE Staff Cairns - 2023On 1 February, Julie Kefford and Pree Sharma attended the Youth Justice Family Led Decision Making Community of Practice hosted by QATSICPP which is a monthly forum where 4 community-controlled organisations from across Queensland come together to reflect on program implementation and practice, identify shared issues, share successes and help QATSICPP identify what needs to be advocated on the sector’s behalf.

Julie delivered a detailed community legal education presentation on youth justice issues including police interactions with our young people, understanding rights and diversion options as well as an overview of legal processes and jargon. The CLE was well received. We look forward to further opportunities to expand on this CLE into more specific aspects of the law. We thank QATSICPP for this opportunity and their commitment to breaking down barriers for our families and young people engaging with the criminal justice system.