The Organisation

Noarlunga Health Services is a regional Health Service, which is funded by the Department of Human Services in South Australia. Noarlunga Health Services has priority of working towards violence prevention. Keep Safe Stay Cool is a major early intervention strategy of this plan. Health promotion and community initiatives are part of the strong primary health care approach taken by Noarlunga Health Services.

The Workers

Noarlunga Health Services encourages a multi-discipline team approach and this is represented in the team of workers involved in Keep Safe Stay Cool.

Keep Safe Stay Cool workers include the Program Coordinator, a social worker employed by Noarlunga Health Services and a worker from The Second Story Youth Centre who recruit, train and then work in partnership with peer educators.

All workers involved have extensive knowledge and experience of working with domestic violence. Responsibilities for workers include resource management, establishing contacts, quality assurance, training and forward planning.  A health worker is present at every peer education session to support and have input if there are any difficulties. The health worker is also on hand if any students/young people have issues they want to discuss following the session.

‘Peer Educators in training’

The Peer Educators

Peer educators with Keep Safe Stay Cool are recruited and trained once a year. There have been three intakes and we have trained 75 peer educators so far. Peer educators are aged from 14 to 24 and come from very varied backgrounds. Some are still at school, others are unemployed or single young mums and some are tertiary education students. Most become involved because they want to make a difference, some are impressed when they participate in Keep Safe Stay Cool sessions as students or hope to go on to become youth workers, health workers or go onto university. Some have experienced domestic violence in the past in their family of origin or in their own relationships but many have no personal experience of domestic violence. All are provided with the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills and to be valued as peer educators.

Peer educators work with Keep Safe Stay Cool for a year and some stay involved for longer training new peer educators, leading sessions when needed and contributing ideas and expertise.

Peer educators work as team members with health workers in session planning, decision making and resource design. As male/female pairs they present school and youth Keep Safe Stay Cool sessions and are active in community initiatives.

In establishing Keep Safe Stay Cool the following organisations contributed time, ideas, support and direction.

“Peace at Home”, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Sexual Health Information Networking Education South Australia (Shine SA)

South Australian Community Health Research Unit (SACHRU)

Woodcroft Community Health Service

Southern Vales Community Health Service

Seaford 6-12 School

Onkaparinga City Council

Zonta, South Australia

Peer Educator in interactive session

Achievements

Apart from delivering interactive sessions to young people in schools and youth groups Keep Safe Stay Cool has:

• Designed and distributed resources which promote the messages of Keep Safe Stay Cool.

• Created a display including student’s art work for use in promotional activities.

• Attracted press coverage at a local level.

• Produced a conference poster about the Keep Safe Stay Cool program.

• Received a Certificate of Merit from the Australian Violence Prevention Award.

• Delivered a presentation at the First International Youth Models Conference, Adelaide, 2000.

• Been selected to present at the International Primary Health Care Conference, Melbourne, 2000

• Been presented as the subject of a Key Note address at Western Australia’s State Conference on Domestic Violence 1999.

• Participated in events and presented at a State initiative for the “Week Without Violence” (November 2001).

• Displayed at the National Life Journeys Conference, Adelaide, 2001.

• Attracted the support of State politicians.

• Participated in local health events.

• Been included in the National Domestic Violence Clearing House’s good practice data base.

• Presented sessions for teachers, health workers, youth workers and community groups.

• Attracted State Government funding for a three-year period.

Peer Educators and health workers work together on all aspects of Keep Safe Stay Cool. The majority of conference presentations are delivered by Peer Educators.

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