Helen Brown’s Connected Women’s Dreaming group helping Aboriginal women

After watching countless Aboriginal people struggle to navigate living off country, Helen Brown decided to do something about it.

A connection to country is one of the fundamental aspects of Indigenous identity. But how do you maintain that sense of belonging when you’re physically detached from this vital connection? Helen Brown has a solution.

A connection to country is one of the fundamental aspects of Indigenous identity. But how do you maintain that sense of belonging when you’re physically detached from this vital connection?

After watching countless Aboriginal people struggle to navigate living off country, Helen Brown decided to do something about it. Born and raised in Sydney, but living in the Clarence Valley for most of her life, Mrs Brown understood the difficulties of finding and maintaining positive connections while facing social isolation.

“I was over seeing so many older Aboriginal women sad,” she said.

“While they were generally accepted in the community, they still felt like they weren’t worthy or as good as others which is compounded by things like rarely being invited to local events.

“They would feel so left out and isolated that they wouldn’t leave their houses or attend medical appointments, so I decided to start an Aboriginal women’s group.”

Designed specifically for those living off country in the Clarence Valley, Connected Women’s Dreaming is quite literally saving lives, Mrs Brown said.

“It’s a nurturing place for people with lots of lived experience with mental health, lateral violence and social isolation,” she said.

Members of the Connected Women's Dreaming group in the Clarence Valley.

“We have one woman who was in a horrific car accident and she got to the stage where she wouldn’t leave her house or talk to anyone. We invited her out and got her out of the house, now she’s a completely different person; she’s out and about and enjoying life again.

“We also had a member of the group submit a piece into a recent competition at the Grafton Art Gallery and we all went there just to support her.”

Mrs Brown said that while the gesture might seem small to outsiders, the positive impact for each individual in this select group has been significant.

“When we go anywhere, we go as a group with at least eight of us so that the women feel comfortable enough to have a family-like atmosphere,” she said.

“It’s basically turned into a family connection. For older women that just don’t have a connection to anyone, it means a lot.”

Given the ongoing success of the group, Mrs Brown said she plans to expand the initiative.

“We’re in the process of becoming incorporated because we want to take on older women’s issues, specifically support and advocacy, because we do it anyway,” she said.

“We’ve done lots of things to support one another and I want to see it keep moving forward.”