Who we are
Our story
We grew out of North Richmond Community Health which provides medical, dentistry, counselling, cultural and allied health services to the communities of the City of Yarra.
Since its inception in 1974, North Richmond Community Health has tailored its services to meet the changing needs of a very culturally diverse location.
Staff at North Richmond Community Health soon came to understand how culture and ethnicity impact on the way people understand health and wellbeing, and the way they access health services. As a result, North Richmond Community Health has maintained an outstanding reputation for delivering culturally competent service.
In 1994, North Richmond Community Health received funding from the Victorian Department of Human Services to share its learning across the state, and the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health was formed.
With an initial focus on health, we have provided cultural competence training to healthcare professionals and began to amass a library of resources on multiculturalism and health.
Since then, we have continued to develop our expertise in health and wellbeing, human rights, cultural competence and health literacy.
Our Structure
Capacity building
We work closely with professionals from health, community and local government services to improve their responsiveness to people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Most of our projects work towards building an agency’s cultural competence with priorities and actions directed by the agency.
Communications and online development
We help reach our organisational objectives and goals as well as provide support on project work. We do this through providing strategic communications and effective use of technology to enable further community engagement and reach of services.
Multicultural Health & Support Service (MHSS)
We work with communities and health professionals to address the poorer health outcomes experienced by people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, around HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections. We also offer a multicultural approach to alcohol and other drug support.
Our Team
Siri
Manager
Piergiorgio
Multicultural Health & Support Service (MHSS) Coordinator
Anni
Health Translations Coordinator
Sophie
Program & Projects Coordinator
Spase
Senior Projects Officer
Aditi
Community Engagement & Projects Officer
Blossom
Project Officer Health Translation
Natalia
Policy, Research & Evaluation Officer
Tapuwa
Community Engagement & Projects Officer
Eudia
Community Engagement & Project Officer
Mary
Senior Project Officer
Yuqian He
Community Engagement & Project Officer
Tere
Project Officer
Dianne
Health Translations Project Officer
Genevieve
Sales Coordinator
Andrea
Training Officer
Brigitte
Admin Support
Babin
Community Engagement & Project Officer
Tristan
Training Officer
Our Values
OUR PEOPLE
Our Clients
Our Staff
Our Community
Our Contractors, Students and Volunteers
Our External Stakeholders
CONNECTEDNESS WITH OUR COMMUNITY
- understand how community, social connections and support affect people’s overall health and wellbeing
- our success is driven by our ability to build relationships, break silos and connect across teams, functions and our community
- our whole is greater than the sum of our parts
- value team and community, as much as individuals
- how we get things done is as important as what we achieve – the means are greater than the end.
INNOVATION
- embrace change and be open to doing things differently
- embrace new technology and look for efficiencies with resources
- have a continuous improvement mindset, exploring opportunities to improve ways of working
- strive to meet new and emerging client and/or community demands or needs
OPENNESS
- act with integrity and honesty, be transparent in your dealings, choose words and actions that are sincere and not misleading
- share ideas freely, communicate clearly and with positive intent
- actively listen and be receptive to feedback and ideas, encouraging others to contribute and speak up
- avoid any real or apparent conflicts of interest and use powers responsibly
ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING
- make the workplace a training ground for professional growth and transformation
- learning is emphasised and values, encourage making time to update knowledge and skills
- follow evidence-based practice
- be allowed to try new things and sometimes make mistakes or not always get it right
- learn constantly and keep abreast of latest developments and industry best practise
EMBRACE DIVERSITY
- put yourself in other’s shoes, treating them how you would want to be treated
- contribute to the diversity of NRCH, actively support what makes people different and different perspectives
- foster a culture of inclusion where every voice is welcome, heard and respected – LGBTIQA+, women, people with a disability, First Nations and those from migrant and refugee backgrounds
- endeavour to reflect everyone’s needs and preferences, avoiding ‘one-size fits all’ approaches
- ensure freedom from exclusion, discrimination, harassment and bullying
- we ensure clients and staff cultural safety
RESPECT FOR OTHERS
- demonstrate dignity and respect for colleagues, our clients and community members
- ensure due regard for people’s feelings, wishes, views and rights
- treating others fairly and objectively
- always communicate with respect, integrity and honesty
EQUITY OF ACCESS
- ensure provision of services to all vulnerable people without exception
- demonstrate respect for our clients and members of the community; being compassionate to different circumstances and experiences
- treat all members of our community fairly and objectively, being sensitive to unique differences
- ensure freedom from any forms of exclusion, with information sharing, transparency and accessibility
We have worked with hundreds of organisations across the health, community and local government sectors. Here’s just a few:
