Break It Down – Community Conversations Around Wellbeing

‘Break It Down’ is a community-led health awareness and education program focusing on Indigenous young people, their families and communities. Through the creation of digital media (song, films, photography and social media clips), the program builds a culture of health literacy – exploring social and emotional wellbeing, the causes & effects of trauma, and identifying healthy choices. The final media productions become part of a living cultural archive, community-led conversations about real-world issues and solutions.

HISTORY

‘Break It Down’ began in 2017/18 as a partnership with Western NSW Primary Health Network (WNSW PHN). Leveraging DPM’s creative process to create real and meaningful impact on the social and emotional wellbeing of young people and communities. We co-designed a program model engaging service providers, young people, Elders and community members in a community-led and impact-focused process.

’Break It Down – Community Conversations around Wellbeing’ has now been delivered all over Australia, partnering with PHN’s in Western NSW, North Coast NSW and Far North Queensland.

PROCESS

A series of creative, immersive projects, and content development activities, facilitated by DPM staff, and engaging Original Nations young people, Elders, community members, health services & agencies, and any other relevant community stakeholders.

These intensive, community-led health and wellbeing-focused workshops are centred around DPM’s unique ‘collaborative storytelling’ process. Creative, safe and inclusive workshops create opportunities for inter-generational dialogue - empowering and inspiring participants to create music, film and media outcomes that articulate the community’s lived experience.  ‘Break It Down – The Road Show’ is the next project component - which continues the conversation in community via a live event, premiering the films and media outcomes, and inviting community into open yarns about social and emotional wellbeing.

The program features:

• Focused workshops utilising DPMs innovative “The Real, The Ideal & The Bridge” process.

• Short film and music productions (based on narrative outcomes of workshops)

• Health and wellbeing education and linkages to local support services 

• Cultural connection/ education

• Large-scale community celebration events

The key objectives of this initiative are:

1. First Nations First:  Building a platform to amplify Indigenous voices onto mainstream media platforms. Shifting the public narrative which is often ‘about’ rather than ‘from’ community.  ‘Break it Down’ is an opportunity for Indigenous people to lead solution-focused discussions and tell the unique story of health and wellbeing in their communities.

2. Connection:  Social inclusion and engagement with family and community, linking community with health and wellbeing services, and creating opportunity for local services to build relationships and trust with community members.

3. Demystifying, Re-framing and Managing Trauma: Debriefing and yarning with your community to help understand the intergenerational and ongoing social and personal impacts of compounded grief and trauma.

4. Hope & Resilience: Positive messaging around health and wellbeing, community and culture, community-led solutions, preparing young people for the future.

5. Identity:  Cultural education, engagement with Elders and cultural leaders, cultural archiving and documentation, connection to country, language and cultural knowledge, positive community recognition and the empowering young leaders and role models.

EVIDENCE

Read about the independent Evaluation of the North Queensland and North Coast NSW ‘Break It Down’ projects HERE.