Cultural programs for Indigenous Australians will be a feature of Ravenhall’s new medium- security prison.
The Gathering Place, a Werribee-based health service for Aborigines, will deliver 12 programs from a new centre at the prison.
The centre will include a special area painted in earthy tones, planted with trees and shrubs, and featuring a fire pit to encourage men to dance and learn about Indigenous culture.
Gathering Place chief executive Colleen Marion said the idea of a special centre took root almost four years ago when a person from prison builders GEO Consortium walked through her door, pitching the idea of joining forces.
“The Gathering Place will have its own area in the prison,” she said. “It’s going to be beautiful, capturing exactly what we spoke about.”
Among its many offerings will be a healing program, which Ms Marion says will inspire inmates to talk about their issues. “It’s a very important mechanism that we’ve run out of The Gathering Place for some time.
“Led by a community elder, it helps people who have lost their way, as they share stories, talk about their lives, and history.
“It takes place in a circle of loved ones, and what is said in the circle doesn’t leave that circle.”
The program will be offered after inmates have served their time. “An issue with a lot of our prisoners is that they don’t have a follow-up after they have been released,” Ms Marion said. “We will help them transition and address all the needs they have with their culture and identity. We need to get it right; we don’t want them going back into prison again.”
Work on the new Ravenhall Prison started last month and is due for completion in 2017.
