Anglicare Southern Queensland's journey of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Anglicare Southern Queensland recognises each person that is in their care as individual, with their own diverse needs and their own unique story. Anglicare aims to support multicultural and linguistically diverse people that are in the aged care community.
The Centre spoke with Anglicare about their journey of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We had a great chat with Khai Balabbo, HR Advisor and Multicultural Facilitator and Nichole Hogg, Leadership, Culture and Engagement Support Officer.
Tell us a bit about your role and organisation and how your diversity, equity and inclusion journey has been so far?
Nichole: “My journey has been developing cultural exchange sessions to assist with creating awareness and our stakeholder's cultural capability.”
Khai: “I coordinate and manage the Multicultural Program of Anglicare. I engage with individuals and carers from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds to improve their knowledge of and access to relevant aged care services.
I also provide support to Anglicare and other aged care providers in building their capacity to deliver quality services through culturally appropriate practices.”
What have been your key learnings in relation to influencing organisational change regarding diversity planning?
Nichole: “In terms of influencing change, we have initiatives in place that create awareness around diversity and inclusion, specifically around our culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.”
Khai: “We are also currently trying to understand the experiences of our clients, employees and volunteers and create a shared vision of what success looks like in this space.
However, this did not stop us from starting activities and initiatives that would help increase awareness of multiculturalism at Anglicare.”
Filipino Festival in Townsville where Anglicare had an information booth for potential CALD clients & showcased career opportunities for the CALD community.
What support do you think is needed for aged care organisations to help them implement diversity planning within their organisation?
Khai: “We believe what we need is to be committed to establishing a community of practice amongst aged care service providers and advocates. I believe having that support network within our industry would help us address complex issues and challenges the CALD community faces.
Our team also believes we need to increase engagement amongst people with lived experience who are providing guidance and support in accessing and communicating with different groups.”
What are your Cultural Exchange Sessions about and what motivated you to initiate them?
Nichole: “The Cultural Exchange Sessions are a part of Anglicare’s Multicultural Program. Our aim is to provide our internal and external stakeholders with the opportunity to share their experiences, as either identifying as a CALD person or working with a CALD person.
Whilst providing cultural awareness, we wanted to add value and create a safe environment for our community to share their experiences.”
We have identified barriers in CALD groups, shared tips to overcome these barriers, and provide resources to help with more inclusive service delivery.”
Khai: “Aside from the Culture Exchange Sessions, we recently announced to our networks that we are hosting information sessions, entitled "A Guide to Home Care Services" for our culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
In this session, we talk about what older people from different cultures experience in Australia, address common misconceptions about aged care, and provide advice and support to clients to navigate the aged care system.”
Information Session at the Railway Estate Community Centre for the Filipino community on "A Guide to Home Care Services”
Khai: “On the 14th of June, we travelled to Townsville and delivered our Information Session to the Filipino Community.
The participants were engaged and their knowledge of aged care funding and services increased.”
Filipino Festival in Townsville
What is your vision for future diversity planning within your organisation?
Nichole: “I would like to continue to focus on creating a safe environment for all employees to feel free enough to express themselves and belong.
This includes initiatives that celebrate cultural inclusivity and story sharing along with facilitating more workshops that support cultural exchanges, First Nations Peoples and the LGBTIQ+ community.”
Khai: “It is important to establish cultural safety first and build on people’s cultural awareness.
We are starting to create a shared understanding of what success looks like for us in the future and it is great that our leaders are also committed to building our D&I strategy.”
Thank you Nichole and Khai for sharing your story.