Collaboration and partnership key to support and connection

Redfern, NSW: Caring for a group of people who are overcoming an onslaught of barriers is central to the work of BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation. The corporation was established in 2019 in response to the need to strengthen the visibility of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQA+ community and in that time has grown from a small to a medium-sized corporation with a variety of programs and activities. BlaQ is a NSW Peak Organisation with the Coalition of Aboriginal Peaks and the Australian representative to ILGA (international LGBTIQA+ Association) World Oceania.

At BlaQ’s heart is connection.

‘It really is about networking, supporting each other, and ensuring that there’s a network of people, ensuring that there are culturally safe spaces for LGBTIQA+ people and that we’re informing society on how to be inclusive,’ says John Leha, the founding director and chair of the corporation.

‘We aspire to a society that acknowledges, understands and values our queer black community; that nurtures, supports, affirms and celebrates our community; and is safe and inclusive,’ he adds.

BlaQ’s work was recently recognised by ACON, a NSW community organisation that provides health, inclusion and HIV responses for people of diverse sexualities and genders. ACON’s annual Honour Awards recognise individuals and organisations in the NSW LGBTIQA+ community who have distinguished themselves as leaders, providers, ambassadors, advocates, or inspirational heroes.

BlaQ took home the Community Organisation award in August 2022, with ACON citing its success in ‘elevating the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQA+ community through its programs, services, advocacy agenda and much-needed support work’ as the reason for the win.

Celebrating the win – John is at far left

‘Caring for community is the core of everything we do at BlaQ,’ says John.

That care has extended into a range of programs – the corporation has helped members navigate barriers into housing and employment, and champions educational pursuits. BlaQ has also partnered with other organisations to provide rapid antigen tests and COVID vaccinations through the pandemic and more recently, monkeypox vaccinations to those First Nations people deemed most at risk from the outbreak.

The corporation is currently working with ACON and Western Sydney University on the Dalarinji (your story) research project, which looks at the experiences and needs of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQA+ people.

There is very little locally specific-guidance available for services on how best to support a young person who is both identifies as LGBTIQA+ and is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. This means that these young people (14-25 years) may not receive the same level of health care as other members of the community.

Dalarinji aims to understand their experiences; their needs for social and emotional support to maintain wellbeing; and how they keep strong and resilient, to co-design place-specific supports to meet these young people’s social and emotional wellbeing needs.

It’s important work – as John says, although society is shifting, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQA+ youth are often marginalised within their own culture and feel let down by high-profile Indigenous leaders and sportspeople.

BlaQ and NSW Health at the recent Koori Knockout

‘Members of the LGBTIQA+ community have taken it upon ourselves to re-educate and reinforce our society to ensure that we’re safe in these spaces. That’s a key part of BlaQ’s strategic direction,’ he says.

Yarn It Up yarning circles are one of those safe spaces. The yarns use the ancient tradition of storytelling to strengthen the community’s kinship, cultural & spiritual connection. Created by ACON, Yarn It Up was moulded and is facilitated by BlaQ to strengthen and support the health, wellbeing and voices of Sistergirls, Brotherboys and trans mob across NSW, build the profile of Sistergirl and Brotherboy community groups, and offer an opportunity for the community to connect and come together.

BlaQ collaborated with Tranby Aboriginal Co-operative and OutLOUD to provide another opportunity for connection, this time across generations, at its recent Queer Elders Lunch. The lunch saw a great number of Elders and community members gather to share First Nations LGBTIQA+ stories over a delicious lunch prepared by Aunty Beryl. It provided an opportunity to share generational knowledge, delve into memories and bring insights into the needs and hopes of LGBTIQA+ First Nations Elders.

With storytelling sometimes comes performance: at the time of writing, BlaQ was looking for performers, actors, dancers, poets, writers and musicians to join a community of likeminded storytellers in creating a uniquely queer First Nations piece of live performance.

It’s a collaboration between BlaQ and Fruit Box Theatre and has just kicked off with its first development workshop at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence. It’s the first in a series of workshops that will define and develop unique storytelling performance.

Keep up to date on the performance and BlaQ’s other work on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and be part of empowering the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQA+ community through innovation, inclusion, understanding and advocacy.