VAADA are pleased to launch ‘Walking Together: Treaty and the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Sector’. A paper aimed at supporting mainstream AOD services to align with the principles of Treaty to enable better outcomes for Aboriginal people.
The disproportionate impact of substance use harms amongst Aboriginal communities has been acknowledged for decades in Victoria. The historical signing of Treaty within Victoria provides a renewed opportunity for all Victorians to heal. For the AOD sector, Treaty provides a foundation to understand how we can improve our services to better meet the needs of Aboriginal Victorians. Following consultation with VAADAs Aboriginal Advisory Committee, this paper provides an overview of Treaty, what it means, how it intersects with the Yoorrook Truth Telling Commission and importantly invites the AOD sector to consider how they can begin to walk with Aboriginal people and Aboriginal services to improve outcomes.
This paper includes reflective questions and links to valuable Aboriginal designed resources for mainstream AOD services to use along the path towards improving outcomes for Aboriginal communities.