Reta's Story - Aboriginal Mental Health Worker, Port Macquarie

Reta Latimore
Aboriginal Mental Health Worker
Port Macquarie

I work as an Aboriginal Mental Health Worker. A lot of people have the perception that mental health is about locking people up, and I have to educate my people a lot about the other side of mental health-the side where we work together to set people free from disabling illness which affects the  lives of themselves and their families. We do so much more than put people in hospital, and although I do support aboriginal people who are in hospital, my work is very much about helping people lead full and happy lives in the community. So how did I come to be doing this work?

As a teenager I thought I would follow a career into sport because I was very involved with athletics, but I married young and was soon involved with caring for my family, friends and elderly relatives, so it was natural that I was attracted to a career in a profession which allowed me to care for my people.

I started working for Homecare at this time, supporting people who needed help to keep living at home. Many of these people had no family and they felt lost and forgotten. A lot of my work revolved around listening to their stories and just being a person they could reach out to. Eventually I became the co-ordinator of Homecare. All the time I was raising my children I was also working and studying things like Social Welfare at TAFE. Somehow I managed to fit it all in, although the hours were long at times and life could be difficult.

Now my children are grown up and I have grandchildren to think about.

Several years ago I was approached about the idea of working in Aboriginal Mental Health, I applied for a position in that field and was successful. I'm now an Aboriginal Mental Health Worker based in Community Mental Health Services at Port Macquarie Hospital and my work is very varied and interesting, and it gives me real opportunities to make things better for my people.

A lot of my work is about education of both aboriginal people and communities and importantly within the health system to raise awareness of how to care appropriately for Koori people. I do a lot of advocacy work helping to match aboriginal clients with the services they need and trying to make sure those services are delivered in culturally appropriate ways.

I have had to work with great persistence to build up a sense of trust in Aboriginal people that the health system is a safe place to go with their problems. This has taken me a long time but I feel very rewarded when I can see that I have made a difference, because my work directly impacts on the emotional health of aboriginal people in my area.

Through my work in mental health I want to see more equality and improve the health and the social and emotional lives of aboriginal people. I would like to see more culturally appropriate services which identify and meet the needs of Koori people. I"m not expecting these things to happen overnight, I just keep plugging away, but its satisfying work because I know I am making a difference. Some days I can see real positive change has happened and that’s where the joy in my work comes from.

When I’m not at work I still enjoy sport. I play touch football, swim and learn kick boxing. I love living and working here, I’m not at all tempted by city life. Here life is safer, cleaner and more laid back, and I think it’s a better environment for kids.