Join us on Friday 28th Of November

We’re proud to host our Addiction Awareness Day!!

A day dedicated to connection, learning, and community spirit. Addiction is a challenge, but with awareness, support, and hope, recovery and new beginnings are always possible. Join us for a relaxed BBQ, inspiring guest speakers, and our festive Christmas raffles with some fantastic prizes up for grabs.

🎤 Inspiring guest speakers |🌭 Free BBQ lunch
| 🎄 Christmas prizes

Its a chance to come together, raise awareness, and celebrate hope as we head into the holiday season.

MENS FISHING TRIP

🎣 Casting lines, catching laughs — our Men’s Health Yarn Up fishing trip was a success! 🎣 

Join our Men’s Health Yarn Up — every Friday, 10am–12pm (excluding school holidays)

Catch a glimpse of our day in action – Watch the video here!

Reeling in Memories: Marrin Weejali Men’s Group Fishing Trip

Join us on Friday 17th Of October

Our Community is coming together for a meaningful Mental Health Awareness Event, bringing connection, conversation and support to the forefront.
With a shared meal, inspiring guest speakers and engaging activities planned, we aim to create a safe space to learn, reflect and remind one another that no one walks their journey alone.

🌟Connecting Community, Raising Awareness and supporting each other. 🌟

🎤 Inspiring guest speakers | Free BBQ lunch | 🎟️ Raffle prizes |
Let’s raise awareness, share stories, and stand strong together

TOGETHER, We make Mental Health a priority!

Join us for our upcoming Overdose Awareness event on Friday 29th August, in partnership with Mt Druitt Tafe, Amcal Pharmacy Emerton and others.

🌟A Morning of Hope, Healing & Community! 🌟
Come together for a powerful event that unites us as One Big Family Driven by Hope.
🎤 Inspiring guest speakers | Free BBQ lunch | 🎟️ Raffle prizes | 💜 A chance to make a difference
Let’s raise awareness, share stories, and stand strong together to #ENDOVERDOSE.

 Join us to help BREAK the Silence and STOP the Stigma

Marrin Weejali and Deerubin Local Aboriginal Land Council will host a NAIDOC event. This year’s NAIDOC event, themed “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy.”

This event will provide a special opportunity for our community especially our young people to engage with Elders in a day of cultural sharing, storytelling, and connection. Younger participants will be invited to ask Elders a question they’d like to have passed down through generations. These heartfelt Q&As will be recorded to preserve and share the wisdom of our Elders with The Next Generation, and many more, for years to come.

Soups, damper and afternoon tea provided.

We are inviting members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to a free Justice of the Peace (JP) training session in Mount Druitt. As a JP, you can support your community by witnessing and certifying documents, helping with everyday matters like applying for a driver licence, housing support, loans, and more.

The JP team is offering free training and assistance to help you become a JP.

Training Details:
📅 Date: Friday 4 July 2025
⏰ Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm
📍 Location: Marrin Weejali Aboriginal Corporation, 79-81 Jersey Road, Blackett NSW 2770

If you are interested, please confirm your attendance by emailing the attached registration form to  jp@dcj.nsw.gov.au or calling (02) 8688 0500.

We look forward to welcoming you and supporting you on this journey to becoming a JP!

“Let’s Talk About It,”prompts us all to reflect on our mental health and overall wellbeing, irrespective of whether we’ve personally encountered mental illness.
By talking about mental health, we can break down stigma and help people feel more comfortable about seeking support. This theme also highlights the importance of early intervention when your mental health is not going well.

Mental Health Month raises awareness about mental health, reduces stigma, and encourages people to prioritise their mental health as much as their physical health. It is important to acknowledge that seeking help for mental health issues is a sign of strength, not weakness. By promoting this theme, we can help create a more understanding and supportive environment for those living with mental health issues.

Everyone has ‘mental health’, just as we all have ‘physical health’. And like our physical health, there are times when our mental health is better than others.
Stay informed, but be aware of your limits
Ask yourself, “how much information and disturbing world news am I currently taking in? And how does it make me feel?”

If it’s having a negative effect on how you feel, try to:
take a break from the news
mute or turn off news notifications on your smartphone
mute or unfollow social media accounts that are reporting on it
or limit your news intake to once a day

The importance of community support and education

Overdose prevention is never an individual effort – it takes a village. Family members, friends, neighbours, colleagues and community members all have a role to play in supporting those at risk. If you suspect that someone is struggling with substance use, approach the situation with empathy and without judgment. This creates an environment where the individual feels supported rather than stigmatised, increasing the likelihood that they will seek help.

At Marrin Weejali, we provide drug and alcohol misuse programs in a culturally sensitive setting, offering the support individuals need. Our services include counselling, group therapy, and help with accessing detox and rehabilitation services. Engaging early with these resources can break the cycle of addiction and prevent tragic, unnecessary losses.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the impact of overdose is intensified by social and historical factors like dispossession, cultural loss and intergenerational trauma. Marrin Weejali is run by our people for our people, and we are dedicated to addressing this crisis with an inclusive approach that respects traditional practices in collaboration with community elders.
The role of education
Education is a powerful tool in the fight against overdose. By raising awareness about the risks associated with drug use and the signs of trouble, communities are better equipped to prevent such incidents.

Community Fire Through Partnerships
It can trickle through our grasslands to clean the forest floors
while its waffling smoke feeds the trees above,
helping to germinate its seeds and give birth to new life.
It can protect country from the harm of wild fires.
It can draw people and communities together,
gathering around a campfire,
as meaningful yarns unfold over a warm cuppa
and a sense of connection washes over those that come to it.
It can provide the means to cook food,
to disinfect water,
a source of light and a powerful way to signal for rescue.
Anxieties and stresses are lessened when we relax next to a campfire,
and allow ourselves to be absorbed by the light of the flickering flames.
the crackling sounds and the smells,
while letting go of the things that hold us down.
Fire is one of nature’s most essential agents of change, and at Marrin Weejali we want to be a part of that change.
A place where communities and services gather in partnership over a cuppa.
A place where trickles of light can spark in the dark crevices of people’s lowest of lows and lift them up to regenerate new beginnings.
At Marrin Weejali we want to thank our partner services for coming to the fire,
Helping individuals and their families recognise the beauty of the fire before them and the fire within them.

There will be a BBQ lunch, lucky door prizes and other giveaways.

Education and testing will be available on the day

Did you know to keep your liver healthy, you should:
Avoid toxins, such as chemicals, smoking and illegal drugs.
Follow healthcare professionals’ instructions about medications, especially warnings against mixing medications and alcohol.
Maintain a healthy weight, including eating a nutritious diet and exercising regularly.
Stay up to date on your shots and wash your hands often.
Do not share needles, razors, toothbrushes or any other personal items, which can spread viruses.

Get screened if you have liver disease risk factors.

ADDICTIONS AWARENESS DAY EVENT

This year’s theme is ‘Everybody Knows Somebody’ and we are calling on our followers, advocates and champions to support this year’s campaign by debunking some of the myths about addiction.

Ladies come along and learn how to:

· Check engine, oil & coolant,
fluids, battery & hoses.
· Check tyres & pressure.
· Change tyres.

Morning Tea & Lunch provided
Bookings Essential.
Call 9628 3031

Ray Kelly with Curtis Ruhnau & Marrin Weejali are assisting local Indigenous community members and health staff in reversing diabetes.

Guided discussions & localised strategies have successfully changed and saved many lives.
The program includes:
Weekly meal plans and healthy recipes
Weekly check-ins for support and progress
A self-paced light exercise program

THE VOICE TO PARLIAMENT

On 14 October 2023, Australians will have their say in a referendum about whether to change the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

https://youtu.be/xUJCYCpjoXc

International Overdose Awareness Day

International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember without stigma those who have died from overdose, and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind.

If you need advice or support with Housing, Centrelink, RMS,  Legal matters, Financial (fines or debts). Come along between 10am & 2pm and speak with service providers.

Enjoy a BBQ and go in the draw to win lucky door prizes.

https://youtu.be/_SC4EwyGSi0

Every year we host Addiction Awareness Week to shine a light on the complex causes of addiction and challenge the stigma attached to it.

This year we are looking at why addiction awareness matters and how tackling the stigma and misunderstandings around addiction will help more people, and families access the aboriginal drug and alcohol support help they need.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoOUONsyLvw

Overdose Awareness Day on 31 August every year, is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember those who have died, and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind.

The campaign spreads the message about the tragedy of drug overdose death, and that drug overdose is preventable.

The goals of International Overdose Awareness Day are:

• To provide an opportunity for people to publicly mourn loved ones.
• To send a strong message to people who use drugs and people in recovery that they are valued.
• To inform people around the world about the risk of drug overdose.
• To provide basic information on the range of support services that are available.
• To prevent and reduce drug-related harm by supporting evidence-based practice.

Mental Health Awareness Month is every October and is an incredibly special month. It is important to acknowledge that mental health is a prevalent issue in contemporary society and must be spoken about more frequently.

Mental health should not be viewed as taboo but encouraged to discuss openly to better understand it.

Mental Health Awareness Week allows people to feel comfortable enough to start these conversations and ultimately begin the process of breaking down the negative stigma that is unfortunately still attached to mental health.

The stereotypes associated with mental health stop people from speaking up and letting others know if they are struggling. There is still an associated perception of weakness rtowards those struggling with mental health issues.

It takes great courage and strength for someone to speak up and say they need help. More recently, there has been a noticeable shift in the mindset of modern society regarding mental health, and although it is getting better, there is still so much work to do in this area.

Mental Health Awareness Week also aims to educate people on mental health and what it is.